"The demand for the food and beverage sector will tend to increase. Therefore, businesses in this sector need to ensure the availability of products by carrying out distribution to all areas equally," he said in a statement released here on Friday.
According to him, the prices of several basic commodities are still relatively stable ahead of Eid.
In March 2023, food inflation declined to 5.72 percent from 7.39 percent in February. He said that the stability in prices reflects the government's success in handling staple goods inflation, which usually occurs ahead of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.
"We truly appreciate the steps that have been taken by the government in handling the inflation of staple goods ahead of Eid," he remarked.
Food prices are relatively stable at present and are expected to continue to remain so ahead of Eid.
To this end, the business sector, especially the food and beverage sector, is also striving to maintain food stability by anticipating an increase in demand.
Rasjid, who is chair of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC), linked the government's efforts to handling inflation and the availability of staple goods with the concept of food security that ASEAN-BAC is currently promoting.
Through the ASEAN-BAC chairmanship this year, Indonesia is aiming to strengthen cooperation between ASEAN countries in increasing the productivity of various alternative foods, such as sorghum, rice, corn, soybeans, and other commodities, to secure food availability.
According to him, food security is deemed unsafe when the supply of food is insufficient to meet the demand of the community. This condition can cause economic instability and high inflation.
"ASEAN-BAC supports ASEAN Integrated Food Security Framework (AIFS) that is strengthened through the 2021–2025 strategic push to promote conducive food markets and trade with a greater focus on MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) and agricultural technology," Rasjid said.
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Translator: Kuntum Khaira, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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