BPS Reminds NTB Provincial Government To Beware Of Rising Rice Prices

Head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Wahyudin. BETWEEN/Nur Imansyah

MATARAM - The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) reminded the NTB Provincial Government to be aware of the increase in rice prices because its impact on the surge in inflation is quite large. "In terms of price development, it is necessary to anticipate that the price of rice will be. Because the price of rice has gone up if we look now," said Head of BPS NTB Wahyudin in Mataram, Antara, Wednesday, June 12. Rice is the highest contributor to the weight of inflation compared to other commodities. Because, if the price of rice increases, other commodities will also have an effect. "So the rice is the highest for inflation, so it needs to be anticipated because the rice price fluctuation determines our inflation to increase," he said. According to Wahyudin, the efforts that must be made by the NTB Provincial Government (Pemprov) to reduce the increase in rice prices are by increasing market operations. "Control efforts must have market operations," said Wahyudin. He admitted that currently NTB has received 10,500 tons of imported rice from Vietnam and 2,000 rice from outside the region that entered NTB through Bulog such as from Java and Bali, bringing the total rice that entered NTB to 12,500 tons. "This import policy is to fulfill the national food stock in NTB. Even if we talk about stock, NTB is not sufficient because there are around 50 thousand tons," he said. But on the other hand, he continued, the first big harvest in NTB has been completed and is currently in the second planting season. This situation, of course, makes the price of rice in NTB increase, although the increase is only a small amount of 0.5 percent. "But even though the price of rice goes up 0.5 percent, don't think it's a joke if the rice has gone up like that," he said again.

Wahyudin said that medium rice is sold in the range of Rp. 10,000 to Rp. 12,300 per kilogram and premium rice is Rp. 14,000 per kilogram. "This means that when rice prices rise, it affects people's purchasing power. Therefore, to reduce this price, one of them must be with market operations," he said.