The government’s attempts in anticipating (inflation potential amid) this year's Eid al-Fitr was better (as compared to the previous year), and there was adequate food supply during the period, so inflation could be maintained properly.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Various anticipatory measures taken by the government had managed to suppress inflation during the 2023 Eid al-Fitr holiday period, Head of Statistics Indonesia (BPS) Margo Yuwono noted here on Tuesday.

"The government’s attempts in anticipating (inflation potential amid) this year's Eid al-Fitr was better (as compared to the previous year), and there was adequate food supply during the period, so inflation could be maintained properly," he remarked.

He stated that the controlled inflation rate was also supported by the harvest season from March to April 2023.

The government announced that the 2023 Eid al-Fitr fell on April 22 and scheduled a joint leave from April 19 to April 25, 2023.

The BPS noted that the month-to-month (mtm) inflation rate during the period was recorded at 0.33 percent, lower than the mtm inflation rate during the 2022 Eid al-Fitr holiday period, which fell at the start of May 2022, that reached 0.40 percent.

Inflation during the holiday period was usually caused by the transportation and food sectors, the BPS head noted, though commodity prices in the two sectors at various Eid al-Fitr homecoming destinations in 2023 were more stable as compared to the previous year.

Some of the homecoming destinations experienced a lower inflation rate during the 2023 Eid al-Fitr, for instance, inflation in Semarang, Central Java, declined, from 0.53 percent during the 2022 Eid al-Fitr to 0.27 percent this year, he stated.

His side also noted that the inflation rate also fell in Malang, East Java, from 0.51 percent to 0.24 percent; Surabaya, East Java, from 0.49 percent to 0.34 percent; and Yogyakarta, from 0.75 percent to 0.22 percent.

In addition, Palembang, South Sumatra, also experienced a decline in the inflation rate, from 0.81 percent in 2022 to 0.33 percent in 2023, while the inflation rate in Bandar Lampung, Lampung, decreased, from 0.58 percent to 0.30 percent.

Yuwono also noted that the contribution of food commodities to inflation during the 2023 Eid al-Fitr was lower than that of the commodities during the same period last year.

The BPS recorded that only broiler chicken and rice contributed to the inflation rate this year by 0.02 percent each.

Meanwhile, four food commodities -- chicken eggs, fish, shallots, and beef -- contributed to the inflation rate amid the holiday period of the Islamic holy day in 2022.

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Translator: Imamatul Silfia, Uyu Liman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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