Benahi Stock Food, Mendag Zulhas Menyalharapkan Peran Bapanas Dan Menjadi Cold Storage Besar

Screenshot of Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Minister of Trade (Mendag) Zulkifli Hasan acknowledged that Indonesia does not have a food stock plan, following the price fluctuations of a number of food needs at certain momentum.

Zulhas, as he is familiarly called, gave an example of cases of egg prices that can go up and down based on the large demand for consumers. Likewise, the price of chilies and chicken meat often goes down and up based on supply.

"Today, if the demand is high tomorrow, the price will increase. If the demand is small tomorrow, the price will go down. Cut the chicken today, if the price is good in the morning. At 9 o'clock it goes down, the afternoon will add up. So if you don't sell, the chicken will rot. Tomorrow we will collect it again. If you harvest chili, sell it today, it won't sell tomorrow, it's rotten. So we don't have a food stock plan," said the Trade Minister in the webinar "Polemic of Rice Imports at the End of the Year" quoted by Antara, Tuesday, December 27.

Trade Minister Zulhas said the food stock plan was very important to ensure the existence of food supplies for the community. In a number of developed countries to Middle Eastern countries, the government has prepared food stock plans for the next two to three months.

"If you go to Dubai, Qatar, Saudi Arabia especially developed countries, there is food stock for two months, three months. We don't have one. There is only rice, rice is now like that," said the Trade Minister.

Trade Minister Zulhas hopes that the existence of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) will be able to fix this problem. He targets Indonesia to have a large cold storage warehouse so that food stocks can be stored safely.

"This will gradually be addressed. We will try to have food stocks, have large cold storage so that we have food stocks maybe one month. If it's not a month, maybe two weeks first. If it's been two weeks, three weeks already, then one month. ideally we have one and a half food stocks," said Trade Minister Zulhas.