DIY Intensifies Market Operations In Traditional Markets Press Rice Prices

Illustration - Rice sold in the market. BETWEEN/Aditya Pradana Putra.

YOGYAKARTA - The Department of Industry and Trade (Disperindag) of the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) will intensify rice market operations (OP) in all traditional markets in this province to reduce the selling price of these commodities in the market.

Head of the DIY Disperindag, Syam Arjayanti, said that he had proposed a budget of IDR 1 billion for the 2023 APBD changes for the implementation of rice OP and cheap markets in these five regencies/cities.

"We propose Rp1 billion for market operations. It will be able to target all markets in DIY," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, September 14.

Based on DIY's Disperindag records in four monitoring markets in Yogyakarta City, namely Demangan Market, Beringharjo Market, Kranggan Market, and Prawirotaman Market on September 4, 2023, the average medium rice price still touched Rp. 13,000 per kg, while premium rice was still Rp. 14,000 per kg.

The price of rice is still far from the highest retail price (HET) set by the government of Rp. 10,900 per kg.

"If we don't try, maybe until January 2024 the price of rice is still like this, it's still quite high above the HET," he also said.

To reduce rice prices, according to Syam, so far the DIY Disperindag has held a rice OP with distributors with sales below market prices.

However, the rice OP has only been held in four monitoring markets in the city of Yogyakarta on a limited basis through each Kios Segoro Amarto.

"Our hope is that it will become a kind of price balancer in the market," said Syam.

In addition to OP and low-cost markets, Perum Bulog Kanwil Yogyakarta has also distributed government food reserves (CPP) in the form of rice food assistance reaching 10 kg for each food aid recipient (PBP).

Syam assessed that some of these efforts were quite effective in reducing rice prices in DIY.

"Our observation shows that there is a slight decrease in prices for medium rice in several places, some have decreased by Rp. 200, some have decreased by Rp. 275 per kg," he said.

Regional Leader of Perum Bulog Yogyakarta Regional Office Ali Ahmad Najih said that the overall target of receiving rice aid in the Bulog Regional Office of Yogyakarta was 1,521,756 PBP spread across Yogyakarta, Kedu, and Banyumas, Central Java.

Each PBP will receive 10 kilograms of rice assistance for three months of allocation, namely October to December 2023, so that the total rice distributed until the end of the year is 45,652,680 kg.