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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Economy & Trade

Agriculture minister warns fortified rice prices could fuel inflation

From Republika · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Indonesia’s agriculture minister said fortified rice prices ranging from 42,000 to 56,000 rupiah per kilogram appeared excessive compared with an expected price of about 13,500 rupiah.
  • The government is investigating possible violations of fortification requirements after preliminary laboratory checks suggested about 90% of tested samples did not comply.
  • The minister said the issue concerned market prices and consumer purchasing power, not a shortage of government rice stocks.

Indonesia’s agriculture minister has questioned why fortified rice is selling for as much as 56,000 rupiah per kilogram, calling the price gap potentially dangerous for inflation.

Andi Amran Sulaiman said the government was investigating the products, including suspected discrepancies between their contents and applicable fortification rules. The inquiry began after attention focused on prices far above those of ordinary rice.

Preliminary laboratory results suggested that about 90% of the samples examined did not meet the requirements, Amran said. Some fortified rice products were priced between 42,000 and 56,000 rupiah per kilogram, while the reported average stood at about 22,000 rupiah. Amran compared those figures with a price he said should be around 13,500 rupiah per kilogram.

We are checking because stocks are plentiful. So it is not because of rice stocks. We are temporarily investigating the problem.

— Andi Amran SulaimanThe agriculture minister described the government’s investigation into the unusually high price of fortified rice.

“If the price is 13,500 rupiah, then it is sold for 40,000 rupiah, does that add to inflation or not? Is it a contributor or not?” Amran said in Subang, West Java.

He said the government was assessing more than the availability of rice. Prices formed in the market could affect consumers’ purchasing power and inflation, even though government rice stocks remained strong. Officials will use the investigation’s findings to decide what action to take against products and businesses found to have violated the rules.

If the price is 13,500 rupiah, then it is sold for 40,000 rupiah, does that add to inflation or not? Is it a contributor or not?

— Andi Amran SulaimanAmran questioned whether the large retail price gap could contribute to inflation.
About this summary

Originally published by Republika in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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