“We are cooperating with the food task force, not only in the Ministry of Trade, provinces, and districts/cities, but also with law enforcement officials,” he said in Surabaya, East Java, on Monday.
He assured that firm action would be immediately taken against any violations, in accordance with the applicable regulations.
He then sought the community’s support in monitoring and preventing food hoarding.
Sambuaga noted that throughout the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and until after Eid al-Fitr, efforts to monitor the availability of food have continued to be carried out intensively in all regions.
“We go around every day. For instance, before going to Surabaya, I checked (the availability of) cooking oil, garlic, rice, and eggs,” he informed.
According to him, the availability of food after Eid al-Fitr is still safe as officers in the field have not found signs of scarcity.
He further said that the prices are still in line with the retail price ceiling set by the government.
“For example, (the price of) Minyakita cooking oil’s (government’s subsidized cooking oil brand) is still below Rp14 thousand (around US$0.86) per liter,” the deputy minister pointed out.
He noted that the Ministry of Trade is continuing to optimize anticipatory measures so that the community can easily get various food commodities in markets at affordable prices.
“What is most important is maintaining the availability. The point is not to let anything run out. Nevertheless, everything is safe now. This is what we are trying to continue to secure and maintain,” he added.
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Translator: Willi I, Ananto P, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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