Here, I give you (a sum of money) in exchange for cooking oil at your store. Therefore, please distribute the oil for free to the people who come visit your store.
Palangka Raya (ANTARA) - Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan conducted an inspection of the Great Market in Palangka Raya City, Central Kalimantan Province, and distributed aid to local residents.

“Here, I give you (a sum of money) in exchange for cooking oil at your store. Therefore, please distribute the oil for free to the people who come visit your store," the minister said to a merchant he met at the market on Saturday.

He repeated this with other merchants, such as those selling chicken meat and chilies. Furthermore, he also directly distributed aid to a number of women who came to the shops for buying food at the market.

During his visit, the minister was accompanied by Central Kalimantan Regional Secretary Nuryakin, Palangka Raya Mayor Fairid Naparin, and several other officials.

"We have reviewed the market together and found out that the stocks of various commodities are sufficient. However, we also found a price increase for a commodity, namely broiler meat. It is currently being sold for Rp47 thousand (around US$3.15) to Rp49 thousand (around US$3.28) per kilogram," Hasan noted.

He highlighted the price increase and said that his ministry will work with the local government to explore measures to reduce the price of meat for maintaining the purchasing power of local residents.

"We will study the background (of the price increase), whether it has something to do with the factors of logistics, transportation, or others. We will later figure it out," Hasan stated.

Based on the latest data provided by the province's Food Resilience Office, broiler meat stock has been recorded at 569 tons, with its demand pegged at 451 tons.

This indicates that the province is experiencing a surplus of 118 tons of meat and could maintain its stock resilience for up to one week.

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Translator: Muhammad Arif, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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