I see that in the context of availability and price stability, the two that I want to highlight include red onion whose national average price is Rp51 thousand, still far from the reference price of Rp32 thousand for onions
Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo is persistently endeavoring to find a solution to bring down the prices of shallots and sugar that are still high in accordance with the highest retail price.

"I see that in the context of availability and price stability, the two that I want to highlight include red onion whose national average price is Rp51 thousand, still far from the reference price of Rp32 thousand for onions," President Widodo stated in Istana Merdeka, Jakarta, on Wednesday.

President Widodo delivered the statement during a limited meeting themed "Continuing Discussion on Anticipating the Need for Staple Food" held through videoconferencing along with Vice President Ma'ruf Amin and ministers of the Advanced Indonesian Cabinet.

"The same trend is also observed for sugar still priced at Rp17 thousand to Rp17,500, although the highest retail price should be Rp12,500," the president pointed out.

The head of state called to decipher the reason behind the steep prices of the two basic necessities.

"Hence, I want a thorough examination of this problem to unearth whether distribution or stock is lacking or whether a deliberate price game to siphon off a huge profit is at play. This should be checked comprehensively. If the price can be brought under control, the purchasing power of the public can be increased," the president emphasized.

Drawing reference to a report from the Central Statistics Agency in April 2020, the head of state pointed to the 0.13-percent deflation in food commodities.

"This is indicative of a decrease in the demand for food. This means the people's purchasing power is declining. To this end, the government has launched social cash assistance for nine million families, BLT (Village Direct Cash Assistance) sourced from Village Funds for 11 million families, staple food card, and PKH ( Hope Family Program). We are optimistic that these measures can boost the people's purchasing power," the president expounded.

The government launched several social safety net programs, including four types of social assistance programs managed by the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Two social assistance programs from the Ministry of Social Affairs are regular or were offered earlier: the Family Hope Program (PKH) for targeted 10 million beneficiaries, with varied benefits in accordance with the qualifications of recipients and the staple food program for 20 million Beneficiary Families (KPM), with Rp200 thousand per beneficiary family.

Non-regular social assistance comprises basic food assistance, totaling Rp600 thousand per household, for the Greater Jakarta region targeting 1.9 million households for three months and direct cash assistance (BLT) for nine million households outside Greater Jakarta.

Moreover, the pre-employment card, under the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, targets 5.6 million recipients, with budget totaling Rp20 trillion to be disbursed for the April-December 2020 period.

Furthermore, free electricity has been announced for households in the 450-volt ampere (VA) category and 50-percent discount for households in the 900-VA category for the April-June 2020 period and direct cash assistance of village funds, under the Ministry of Villages, for 12.3 million households valued at Rp600 thousand per month for each family during the April-June 2020 period.
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