REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TULUNGAGUNG -- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said he has given special attention to the price of rice. He wanted to ensure stability in the price of the commodity.
"The first thing I check is the rice price, as it affects inflation," Jokowi noted here on Friday after visiting Ngemplak Market in Tulungagung in the morning.
The National Logistic Agency (Bulog) has launched market operations to stabilize the rice price.
"We notice that every December and January, the rice price hike is high. Just now, I found out that the rice price is stable, and (the stock of) medium rice is also adequate," he remarked.
The average price of medium rice is Rp8,500 per kilogram, he noted.
"Indeed, there is usually shortage of medium rice in markets. However, (from what we saw this morning), there is adequate stock of rice. Hence, God Willing, there is no problem," he added.
Jokowi said he had also checked the prices of other commodities to see whether they were stable or had increased or decreased.
"The price of chicken is up Rp1,000 this morning, from Rp31 thousand to Rp32 thousand per kilo. I think we need to pay special attention to it, although the increase is only Rp1,000," he pointed out.
The president said the inflation rate tended to decrease, from 3.61 percent in 2017 to 2.13 percent in 2018.
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