"We have assigned a state-owned company to import them, so their prices can be kept down, particularly in the face of the fasting month and subsequent Lebaran festivity," Darmin Nasution said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government may import foodstuffs to stabilize the prices of foods prior to the fasting month, which is expected to start June 6, a senior economic minister said.

"We have assigned a state-owned company to import them, so their prices can be kept down, particularly in the face of the fasting month and subsequent Lebaran festivity," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution said after chairing a coordination meeting on food prices here on Tuesday.

He noted that prices of several foods, including beef and onions, are increasing, while the prices of rice and red chilis are declining, due to the harvest time.

To maintain supplies and stabilize prices, the government wants to import foodstuffs to prevent their prices from skyrocketing, as well as to avoid scarcities, which may lead to public unrest, he said.

"To control prices we actually have adopted a policy to set the volume of imports. We have assigned a state firm to import foodstuffs, although private companies can also import them," he said.

Director General of Agro Industry at the Industry Ministry Panggah Susanto did not rule out the possibility of the country importing foodstuffs, as their prices at a retail level are on the rise due to rumors of limited supplies.

"The problem is that prices remain high. If prices are still high while there are supplies, this means that there will be something wrong. For instance, the price of onions currently fetch up to Rp40 thousand per kilogram. This means that certain quarters have raised it, because it should not reach that high," he said.

"If prices are too high, there must be importing of foodstuffs," he said.

The coordination meeting assigned the Trade Ministry and the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) to take various steps to stabilize the prices of foodstuffs.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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