Acting Deputy II of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Edy Priyono said not to normalize the high prices of food commodities in eastern Indonesia.
"From the monitoring results , it is indeed apparent that the prices of basic necessities in Maluku, Papua, and all provinces in the Eastern Indonesia region tend to be higher than in other regions," said Edy when met after the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Coordination Meeting with stakeholders in Jakarta, Friday.
"We don't want to consider this as something normal, and we have to find a solution to this problem," he added.
Based on data presented at a coordination meeting with Bapanas, curly red chilies are priced at IDR 76,923 to IDR 100,625 per kg in Eastern Indonesia, or far above the Purchase Reference Price (HAP) of IDR 37,000 to IDR 55,000 per kg.
Furthermore, the price of red cayenne pepper in Central Papua is priced in the range of IDR 87,682 per kg to IDR 118,214 per kg. This is also far above the HAP of IDR 40,000 to IDR 57,000 per kg.
Meanwhile, the highest price of shallots in eastern Indonesia is held by South Papua Province at IDR 64,375 per kg, even though the set HAP is IDR 36,500 to IDR 41,500 per kg.
For this reason, Edy said it is important for the government to work together to lower the prices of these food commodities following the mandate from President Prabowo Subianto.
"As we know, price control, especially the price of basic necessities, is one of the national priorities of the President. Therefore, KSP always monitors strategic food prices every day and we report it every week in the Regional Inflation Control Coordination Meeting at the Ministry of Home Affairs," said Edy.
He said the recommended short-term solution is to establish strategic relationships between the government, producers, distributors and business actors in eastern Indonesia.
