Food prices in Indonesia forecast to remain high through year-end
Food prices are expected to remain high for the rest of the year as the El Niño weather phenomenon affects production in Indonesia and other countries, the National Food Agency (Bapanas) has said.
A local resident with buckets walking to fetch water from an artificial groundwater reservoir in the middle of a dry rice field at Rawa Bogo village, Bogor district of West Java in Indonesia. (Photo:XINHUA)
Jakarta (VNA) – Food prices areexpected to 𝔍remain high for the rest of the year as the El Niño weatherphenomenon affects production in Indonesia and other countries, the NationalFood Agency (Bapanas) has said.
Bapanas head Arief PrasetyoAdi said the Indonesian government will continue its efforts to control foodprices, including by securing further imports of three particularly challengedcommodities namely rice, corn and sugar. He noted that the government hadassigned the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to import 3.5 million tonnes of ricethis year to increase the government’s stocks and agreed to waive import tax upto 450 IDR (0.029 USD) per kg for this amount of rice. He went on to say that otherefforts to boost production are also underway, including plans to accelerate riceplanting and improve fertiliser supply. According to StatisticsIndonesia (BPS), Indonesia's rice production is expected to decrease by 650,000tonnes this year to 30.9 million tonnes. BPS data in early November also showedthat rice was the main cause of high inflation in October which was up to2.56% from 2.28% in the previous month. To stabilisecorn prices, the Indonesian Government will import 500,000 tonnes, Arief said,adding that half of this amount is expected to be shipped home before the endof this year. Arief said that withoutintervention in domestic supply, prices of other food items, such as eggs andchicken, will also increase due to high demand amid declining output. Besides expanding the sugarcanegrowing area, Bapanas will also continue to encourage companies to import sugarfrom Thailand, Australia, and Brazil. Previously, Indonesian companiestemporarily stopped importing this product due to rising international pricesand falling exchange rates, he added./.
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A local resident with buckets walking to fetch water from an artificial groundwater reservoir in the middle of a dry rice field at Rawa Bogo village, Bogor district of West Java in Indonesia. (Photo:XINHUA) 
