If there is a problem in supply and distribution, we will overcome it."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has called on his cabinet ministers to overcome the soaring salt prices that burden the public, including salted fish entrepreneurs.

"In connection with salt-related issues, I will later check directly with several ministers, including the minister of state enterprises," the president remarked after opening the inflation control 2017 coordination meeting here on Thursday.

President Jokowi said he and several ministers will check the soaring salt prices to gain better clarity on the problem at hand.

"If there is a problem in supply and distribution, we will overcome it," the president remarked, adding that during a coordination meeting with governors, regional heads, and mayors, issues related to salt prices were raised.

In Jakarta, for instance, the price of a small pack of salt that was usually sold at Rp2 thousand rose to Rp5 thousand at the Gondangdia Market in Central Jakarta.

"Last month, the price of the relatively larger pack was Rp30 thousand, but now, it is sold at Rp50 thousand," Aceng, a trader, said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The rise in prices and scarcity in salt stocks were witnessed not only in Jakarta but also in almost all provinces. Hence, a legislator has called on the government to intervene to tackle the salt crisis in the country.

The government should take action and investigate the reason behind the salt crisis.

"I think this is partly due to our carelessness or inability to maximize the potentials that we have," legislator Siti Mukromah, who is a member of Commission VI of the House of Representatives, said in Purwokerto, Banyumas District, Central Java, on Wednesday.

Logically, Indonesia should never run short of salt, but adversely, it has happened now, as the commodity is difficult to find in the market at normal prices. If the exploration and exploitation of salt were to be carried out, the current crisis would not have occurred, according to Mukromah.

Secretary General of the Indonesian Salt Consumer Industry Association Cucu Sutara stated recently in Bandung, West Java, that Indonesia needs 4.2 million tons of salt in 2017.
(Uu.O001/INE/KR-BSR/A014)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2017