Ahead Of Nataru, The National Food Agency Asks The Regional Government To Strengthen Food Stock In The Market

Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi. (Photo: Doc. Badanas)

Head of the National Food Agency Arief Prasetyo Adi asked local governments, especially DKI Jakarta, West Java, Banten, and Central Java, to strengthen food stocks in markets ahead of the 2023 Christmas and 2024 New Year holidays (Nataru).

"While we still have time before Nataru this year, please make sure the distribution of food stocks can be completed on time," he said at the High Level Meeting (HLM) of the Regional Inflation Control Team (TPID), in Jakarta, Wednesday, November 29.

Furthermore, Arief said, food that has a long shelf life will not be a problem if it is knocked out a lot. However, said Arief, what needs to be considered is food ingredients whose shelf life is not long.

"If the stock has a long shelf life, there is no problem, just keep it in stock. But if for example chilies that don't last long, it needs to be considered," he said.

According to Arief, if the local government can secure food stocks from Pasar Jaya plus Tanah Tinggi, Cibitung and Johar, it will be safe. The reason is, the island of Java is a national food safety representation.

"That we can be safe. This is important because if the stock on the island of Java is safe, nationally it can also be safe. Of course this is our effort to control inflation and food prices for the community," he explained.

For your information, national inflation in October was recorded at 2.56 percent on an annual basis and an increase compared to September which was at 2.28 percent.

Meanwhile, inflation for DKI Jakarta Province on an annual basis reached 2.08 percent, but below the national inflation average.

Likewise, inflation for Banten Province is still below the national inflation average, which is at 2.35 percent.

Meanwhile, West Java's inflation is at 2.58 percent.

Of the three provinces, the biggest contributors to inflation are rice.

"We need to encourage and support domestic rice production. This is because if the planting area is below 1 million hectares, we can experience a deficit. The need for national rice consumption every month needs around 2.5 million tons. For that, let's hand in hand support the Ministry of Engineering to make it happen," he said.

According to Arief, in Jakarta there are indeed more to hold back and maintain inflation, but in other areas, it is also necessary to maintain prices at the farm level, especially rice.

"The current Food Crop Farmer Exchange Rate (NTPP) is the highest, but according to the direction of Mr. President Joko Widodo, downstream must also be controlled by prices in the community," he said.