January 2021, Tofu And Tempe Have A Big Contribution To Inflation

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Central Statistics Agency recorded the core inflation rate in January 2021 at 0.14 percent. Meanwhile, the annual inflation rate or year on year (yoy) from January 2021 compared to January 2020 was 1.56 percent. Based on these figures, this annual core inflation is the lowest rate since 2004.

"Core inflation of 1.56 percent is slowing down compared to December 2020, the lowest since it was first calculated in 2004", said Head of BPS Suhariyanto, in a virtual press conference, Monday, February 1.

Year on year core inflation in January 2020 was quite high at 2.88 percent. As for during 2020, the lowest yoy core inflation occurred in December, namely 1.60 percent.

Suhariyanto said that low inflation shows that the level of public demand for goods and services is still low. This is because the COVID-19 pandemic is still looming over the economies of many countries, including Indonesia.

"As of January 2021, inflation in various countries has experienced a significant slowdown, in fact, many countries are experiencing deflation. This shows that the demand side is very weak, so this will later affect household consumption", he explained.

According to Suhariyanto, all people and the government must work together in efforts to recover the economy. He also hopes that the vaccination program can restore the economic situation.

However, he said, in economic recovery, community support with high compliance with health protocols set by the government is needed.

The Central Statistics Agency noted that inflation in January 2021 reached 0.26 percent on a monthly basis and on an annual basis it reached 1.55 percent. Based on its components, the highest inflation occurred at a volatile price, which was recorded at 1.15 percent and contributed to inflation by 0.19 percent.

Meanwhile, commodities that contributed to the highest inflation were cayenne pepper, fresh fish, tempe, tofu, and 0.01 percent of chicken meat. On the other hand, the commodities contributing to deflation were eggs and shallots.