"We and the union's regional leadership councils as well as the network members decided that there will be no strike," Asnawi told ANTARA in Jakarta on Saturday.
The chairperson affirmed that the association's earlier stance to support the traders' strike plan had shifted after the government addressed most of their concerns.
Meat traders are instructed to continue their trading activities normally, he affirmed.
JAPPDI has urged the government to intervene to prevent the price of meat from soaring further due to the discrepancy between the supply and demand from December 2021 to February 2022, he stated.
"The scarcity is caused by the supply issue because we could not rely solely on imported meat. The government then allocates local meat products to the Greater Jakarta area (to help lower the price)," he remarked.
Asnawi highlighted that before the intervention, the meat price had soared by 15 percent at the butcher level, thereby compelling market merchants to sell the meat for Rp140 thousand (US$9.8) for one kilogram and rendering the price unaffordable to most customers.
The government's market intervention has helped prevent the price from increasing at only five percent of the normal price, thereby allowing merchants to sell meat at the more affordable price of Rp125-130 thousand (US$8.75-9.1) per kilogram, the chairperson remarked.
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"The government's intervention has slightly thwarted the price surge, from Rp140 thousand to only Rp125 thousand to Rp130 thousand. Despite the price being suppressed, it is yet not in line with that expected by merchants," Asnawi remarked.
The government has also facilitated relevant stakeholders to discuss and seek solutions to address their concerns and convince the merchants to rescind their strike plan, he noted.
"Circulating information and news allowed residents to understand the meat price issue, yet we will demand more discussions to seek solutions to further press the price surge and reach the desired price," Asnawi noted.
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Translator: Sella Panduarsa G, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
