Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Trade Ministry has estimated a rice surplus of around 9 million tons, cooking oil surplus of around 352 thousand tons, and beef surplus of around 58 thousand tons for the January–April period this year.
With these figures, the ministry is sure of sufficient food supply ahead of the Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr periods.
"Based on the Food Balance of the National Food Agency, our food supply is sufficient to meet the needs of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr," the ministry's acting director general for domestic trade Kasan said in Jakarta on Friday.
He informed that the government has continued to maintain the food supply and food price stability for the community at affordable prices, especially ahead of the 2023 Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.
In addition, he said that the ministry has adopted several strategies to reduce the price and maintain food commodity supply ahead of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr by streamlining the food supply chain to support equitable sustainable development.
Its strategies have included increasing and expanding the inter-island trade distribution network, utilizing maritime outlets, and increasing the range and quality of basic commodity data in the ministry's staples market monitoring system (SP2KP), which is reported real-time, with help from regional stakeholders, he addressed.
The ministry is also providing trade education through the electronic system and digitalization of markets and micro, small, and medium trading businesses (UDMKM), Kasan added.
"In addition, ahead of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, the ministry held a joint meeting with the Provincial and District/City Trade Services throughout Indonesia, which includes the discussion regarding supply chain preparations for staple goods," he said.
Kasan informed that at the end of February, the ministry imported sugar, meat, rice, garlic, soybeans, and one-day-old broiler chicken (DOC broiler) for chicken meat to meet basic needs for Ramadan, which is predicted to fall on March 23 and Eid al-Fitr on April 21.
The State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry, through its food holding or ID FOOD, also imported 237,575 tons of sugar and 100 thousand tons of beef.
Meanwhile, state-owned logistic agency Bulog imported 13,500 tons of rice from Thailand in February, with the total rice stocks at Bulog's warehouse reaching 20 thousand tons.
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