He added that the price decline occurred due to the influx of a large volume of foreign goods entering the domestic market.
"Deflation is due to the large number of imported goods. Big supply, especially from imports, can cause deflation," he said on Monday.
Meanwhile, the ministry's spokesperson, Febri Hendri Antoni Arief, said that limiting the entry of cheap imported products into the domestic market could help increase the price of manufactured products.
If production demand increases, it may bring sustainable impact in the form of encouraging industry players to absorb new workers, he pointed out.
"With new workers absorbed, it will eventually increase household income and strengthen purchasing power, leading to deflation reduction," Arief explained.
Earlier, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said she believed that the deflation recorded over five consecutive months was not a negative signal for the economy because it was caused by volatile food components related to food commodities.
With food deflation, prices of food in the market tend to become stable, or even fall.
She noted that people's spending, especially the lower middle class, is dominated by food spending. Therefore, the decline in food prices can help them buy food ingredients at cheaper prices.
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) recorded that the Indonesian economy experienced deflation of 0.12 percentage point month on month in September 2024.
The deflationary trend was witnessed from May, with the figure reaching 0.03 percentage point that month, 0.08 percentage point in June, 0.18 percentage point in July, and 0.03 percentage point in August.
Meanwhile, annual inflation was recorded at 1.84 percentage point year on year and calendar year inflation of 0.74 percentage point year to date.
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Translator: Ahmad Muzdaffar F, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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