TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Commodity prices begin to show signs of increasing as Eid al-Fitr draw near. Traders in tradition markets even predicted that the increase would be much higher compared to 2015.
Abdullah Mansuri, Chairman of the Indonesia Traditional Market Traders Association (IKAPPI) said that price increase during the holy month of Ramadan has a distinctive pattern. Abdullah explained that after experiencing minor decrease during the first half of Ramadan, prices will begin to increase steadily one week prior to Eid al-Fitr.
"It also happens this year, and the increase is relatively higher compared to previous years. Usually prices increase by no more than five percent, but [this year] prices of several commodities had gone up more than 10 percent," Abdullah said on Tuesday, June 28, 2016.
Abdullah said that some of the notable increase occurred to prices of beef (Rp 125,000 per kilogram), shallots (Rp 38,000 per kilogram, and sugar (Rp. 17,000 per kilogram).
Abdullah asserted that whatever policy made by the government will not be able to control the prices. Abdullah argued that the government should have prepared a policy for next year’s Eid al-Fitr immediately after this year’s Eid festivities ends.
"There should be communication with traders and farmers, [we need] to sit together and solve the problem," Abdullah said.
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