"Mr. President has a great idea of establishing one Red and White cooperative in each village. These cooperatives will help stabilize prices, ultimately eliminating the need for market operations," he remarked while overseeing an affordable food market operation in East Jakarta on Saturday (March 8).
Sulaiman explained that the government aims to implement the village-oriented cooperatives program to significantly shorten and simplify supply chains, with the ultimate goal of ensuring more affordable essential goods for the people.
"This is a permanent solution from Mr. President. The aim is to reduce the supply chains from eight to three steps, allowing goods to flow directly from farmers to cooperatives and consumers," he pointed out.
The minister further elaborated on the approach to supply chains, emphasizing that it is essential for preventing middlemen from profiting excessively from the distribution of staple food commodities.
"Middlemen can accumulate Rp313 trillion (US$19.2 billion) from nine staple goods. Doesn’t it sound promising that the government plans to establish one cooperative in each village as a permanent solution to this issue?" he remarked.
During his review of the market operation, Sulaiman also warned merchants against selling basic commodities above the highest retail price (HET) set by the government to maintain people's purchasing power.
"Mr. President has affirmed that there is no reason for anyone to sell goods at prices higher than their HET. Why? Because our stocks of rice and cooking oil, for example, are abundant," he said.
He added that authorities would take firm action against those found deviating from the HET instruction.
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Translator: Muhammad H, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Arie Novarina
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