Jakarta (ANTARA) - Statistics Indonesia (BPS) has said that the government’s toll road fare discount program helped to suppress inflation in April 2023, when the Eid al-Fitr holiday period occurred.
"During April 2023, toll road tariffs did not contribute to inflation, which means that the toll rate discount program was successful in suppressing inflation," said BPS head Margo Yuwono on Tuesday.
The government had announced that Eid al-Fitr would fall on April 22 of that year and scheduled the joint leave from April 19 to 25.
During the Eid al-Fitr homecoming and returning periods, five toll road business entities (BUJTs) provided a 20 percent fare discount at three toll roads on Java Island and two toll roads on Sumatra Island.
According to BPS, the month-to-month (mtm) inflation rate during the Eid holiday period was 0.33 percent, lower than the mtm inflation of 0.40 percent during the Eid holiday period in May 2022.
The agency recorded that transportation rates and commodity prices were the primary contributors to this year's inflation.
However, Yuwono stated that further studies were required to evaluate the impact of the government's free homecoming program on inflation in April 2023.
"The implementation of the free homecoming program is intended to ease the burden on public transport. However, the extent of its influence still needs to be studied further," he said.
Furthermore, Yuwono informed that the Eid allowance (THR) and other bonuses received by workers helped boost their purchasing power during the religious holiday.
"Since their income increased, their purchasing power also improved. In addition, commodity supply was adequate, and several commodities experienced deflation, so inflation during the 2023 Eid al-Fitr holiday decreased compared to last year," he explained.
He noted that red chili and bird's eye chili were among several commodities that recorded deflation, which helped suppress the national inflation rate.
The government's anticipatory measures on inflation potential amid this year’s Eid holiday, which were better than last year’s, as well as stable food supply due to the harvest season from March to April, also contributed to the maintained inflation rate, he added.
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