Sufficient Food Supply, Low Prices Kept Indonesia’s May Inflation Stable

Jakarta. Inflation is seen as stable in May as ample supply from the harvest season kept the price of raw foods low.

The consumer price index is estimated to have increased to 7.3 percent, according to the median estimation of eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The index rose 7.25 percent a month earlier, its slowest pace in 10 months. The country’s Central Statistics Agency (BPS) is due to announce the figures for May’s inflation and April’s trade balance on Monday.

“There’s still enough supply from the rest of the harvest season to meet demand,” said David Sumual, chief economist at Bank Central Asia (BCA).

Average price of rice, the staple food for Indonesians, fell 4 percent in May compared to the same month a year ago, according to data from the Trade Ministry. The price of beef stood at 11 percent lower, while chicken and cooking oil fell 12 percent and 14 percent respectively.

The economy is also bracing for effects of the recent increase made in electricity tariff, which saw a 13 percent hike for medium-and large scale companies. It would take “two to three months,” David added, before businesses decide to pass their increasing costs to customers.

Aldian Taloputra, an economist at Mandiri Sekuritas, said that a slightly weakened rupiah would also contribute to rising inflation. The currency weakened 0.7 percent so far this month, making it more expensive for importers to bring in merchandises from overseas.

Still, the economists said rising inflation would not be enough to force Bank Indonesia to raise its benchmark rate, which has been at 7.5 percent for seven months.

Sumber: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/sufficient-food-supply-low-prices-kept-indonesias-may-inflation-stable/

OPINION

In my opinion the month of fasting, feast day, school holidays and the new school year are some inflation factor. Therefore, the Government should really maintain the availability and stability of staple food prices due to the fluctuation in food prices will have an impact on inflation. Trend of price increase always occur one month up to one day ahead of Eid. But this situation seems to be better than last year due to food supply which sufficient. So the trend of rising prices is relatively decreased for this year. Although the condition of the rupiah is slightly weakened, it is more expensive for importers to bring merchandise from abroad. I guess the government does not need to import from abroad for this moment because supply food which sufficient.

Output to be boosted as RI moves beyond rice

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Fri, May 16 2014, 10:35 AM

The government will accelerate the production of cassava because it is believed the crop can alleviate challenges such as food and energy shortages.

The Agriculture Ministry’s post-harvest director Pening Dadih Permana said on Wednesday that the ministry was currently putting together a strategy for the 2015 to 2019 period, which includes expediting production of several strategic commodities including cassava.

                  
“The ministry is focusing on the development of bio-industrial farming, which can produce food and energy,” Dadih said, adding that cassava could be converted into bioethanol.

To accelerate cassava production, the Agriculture Ministry would expand cassava’s crop acreage, improve farmers’ cultivation techniques and control food imports, he added.

Indonesia is still relying on rice as its staple food, but declining production since the self-sufficient era in the early 1980s has prompted the government to develop other food sources.

“Indonesia has the potential [to develop other food sources],” Dadih said, adding that cassava, with its many advantages, might be 
the answer.

The Indonesian Cassava Community (MSI) chairman Suharyo Husen said that one of the advantages of cassava was that its cultivation was easy. “Besides already being familiar to Indonesians, the cultivation of cassava is very easy,” he added.

Achmad Subagio from PT Tiga Pilar Sejahtera Food research department said that cassava could even be planted on sand. 

“I’ve tried to plant cassava on around 3,000 hectares of sand in Jember and Lumajang and it surprisingly worked,” he said.

Cassava also had a very high productivity rate compared to paddy, according to Subagio. “Around 23.5 million tons of cassava were produced from harvest areas of 1.2 million hectares, while 13 million hectares of paddy fields could only produce 65 million tons of rice,” he added.

Demand for cassava reached 60 million tons per year, Husen said, but production only reached 23.6 million tons last year, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). That was a decline from 2012, where production reached 23.8 million as harvest areas also decreased to 1 million hectares last year from 1.1 million hectares the previous year.

Dadih said that there were several obstacles in the development of cassava’s production and consumption. “The lack of quality seeds and harvest areas are just some of the hurdles. The price of flour made from cassava is also less competitive compared to the price of wheat flour,” he added. In addition, according to Subagio, there is also a stigma that cassava is food for the poor. (ask)

Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/16/output-be-boosted-ri-moves-beyond-rice.html

OPINION

In my opinion the presence of cassava that abundant and with low prices in the countryside can be upgraded into the high-value foodstuffs. To support the government policies that will accelerate the production of cassava plants because it is believed to alleviate challenges such as food and energy shortages. Moreover, Indonesia is currently not fully self-sufficient in food, in the sense that the entire region can not meet their own food needs of diverse, so that at any given moment requires imports. If the capability of food production domestic can not follow the increasing needs, then Indonesian will depend imports in the future, which means that national food security will increasingly vulnerable as it will increasingly depend on the economic policies of other countries. Therefore, it's very appropriate if the development target food sector in Indonesia, including is making the one of tubers such as cassava as a substitute for rice. In an effort to increase local food that does not rely on one commodity alone.

RI's consumption to rise 40% during Ramadhan

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Fri, May 23 2014, 5:05 PM

Deputy Trade Minister Bayu Krisnamurthi said that consumption in Indonesia would rise by 40 percent during the upcoming fasting month of Ramadhan, which will begin on June 28.

"Spending on transportation, clothes and souvenirs will also increase, not only on food," Bayu said as quoted by kontan.co.id.

He said that given many Indonesians would return to their hometown during Ramadhan, the center of consumption would shift. The capital city would see decreased consumption while regions across the archipelago would consume more products.

In addition, prices of goods before the fasting month were projected to rise between 4 to 11 percent.

Prices would increase by between 1 and 3.5 percent between the first day of Ramadhan and Idul Fitri, he said.

The ministry is currently strengthening its collaborations with local retailers in order to maintain the supply of goods, hence stabilizing prices. (nfo)

Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/23/ris-consumption-rise-40-during-ramadhan.html

OPINION

In my opinion people should be more patient in the face of rising prices, and must be smart in choosing and bargain items to be purchased. And for the traders (middlemen) in order not to raise prices at will and not hoard goods. Because it can be detrimental to consumers. Seen also from Indonesia’s dynamic economy, it needs the participation of the government in overseeing the distribution of basic foodstuffs ingredients so that are not stalled. Such as H-7 towards Eid, trucks carrying foodstuffs experiencing congestion. In this situation the government should consider a solution that does not happen every year. And so the government should conduct market operations periodically. So that the middlemen are not arbitrarily raise the price of basic foods themselves.

Something you should or shouldn't do and can or can't do

Write down something you should or shouldn't do and can or can't do in these place:

1.    Library

a.    You are allowed to borrow some of the books in the library.

b.    You aren’t allowed to buy a book at the library.

c.    You are supposed to bring a library card if you want to borrow the book in the library.

d.    You aren't supposed to be noisy in the library.

2.    Museum

a.    You are permitted to take some photos in the museum.

b.    You aren’t permitted to touch or walk on historic sites at the museum.

c.    You are expected to buy a ticket before you get into the museum.

d.    You aren’t expected to be noisy in the museum.

3.    Restaurant

a.    You are permitted to book a table in a restaurant.

b.    You aren’t permitted to bring food or drinks from the outside in some restaurants.

c.    You are supposed to order the food according available in the menu of the restaurant.

d.    You aren’t supposed to be rude to the waiter in a restaurant.

4.    Tram

a.    You are allowed to take the bicycle on board the tram.

b.    You aren’t allowed to vend on the tram.

c.    You are supposed to buy the ticket at the counter before you board the tram.

d.    You aren’t supposed to interfere with other passengers on the tram.

5.    Park

a.    You are permitted to picnic with your family in the park.

b.    You aren’t permitted to pick flowers in the park.

c.    You are expected to maintain the cleanliness of the park.

d.    You aren’t expected to let your younger brother/sister play alone in the park.