Guarantee Of The Availability Of Basic Materials From The Government During The COVID-19 Pandemic

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JAKARTA - The government, through the Ministry of Trade, ensures the safe availability of basic commodities in the midst of the corona virus or COVID-19 outbreak. So, people don't have to worry about panic buying.

Director General of Domestic Trade of the Ministry of Trade, Suhanto, said that the government has taken steps to maintain the availability of basic commodities. The government also imported several basic necessities that were running low.

In addition, to maintain price stability, the Ministry of Trade will collaborate with law enforcement officials or the Food Task Force to oversee the buying and selling process and distribution.

"We, from the Ministry of Trade, monitor daily prices of basic necessities from 34 provinces in Indonesia, including rice, cooking oil, wheat flour, soybeans, beef, chicken eggs and shallots, as well as garlic and sugar," Suhanto said in a statement. Graha BNPB, Jakarta, Wednesday, March 25.

However, he admitted, the price of several basic necessities, such as sugar and garlic, has increased. However, people do not need to worry about it because the government has taken steps to import from other countries and hopes to reduce prices and increase availability in the community.

"Next is garlic, for the supply of garlic, the Ministry of Trade has approved imports of 150 thousand tons of garlic and has entered 11 thousand tons," said Suhanto.

Meanwhile, to meet the need for sugar, the government together with entrepreneurs will import raw materials. Then it will be processed into consumption sugar and then immediately marketed in the country. The plan is that around 550 tons of raw sugar will be sent to Indonesia in the near future.

Furthermore, for the availability of meat, the government has assigned BUMN and Bulog to import as much as 70 thousand tons of buffalo meat. Currently, the process has entered the supply stage.

"The hope is that before Ramadan this meat will enter the market and will certainly stabilize the price," said Suhanto.

Finally, regarding the availability of rice, the government ensures that the supply is safe. Because, based on existing data, Bulog controls 1.5 million tons. So, whenever there is no problem, it can be distributed to shops or retail in various regions.

"Bulog has collaborated with modern retailers throughout Indonesia. Our hope is that with this collaboration, the public can find medium-sized rice from Bulog in modern retails, which are now generally available in each city or district in Indonesia," he said.