Govt to Monitor Foods, Airline Paid Baggage to Control Inflation

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government will seek to keep inflation at 3.5 percent (plus/minus 1 percent range) this year, the same as 2018's target. One way to do this is to control inflation stemming from volatile food items; keeping it within a maximum range of 4 to 5 percent.

"We will apply control over affordability, supplies, distribution, and effective communication," Iskandar Simorangkir, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs' deputy for macroeconomics and financial coordination, said in Jakarta Tuesday.

The government will closely monitor volatile goods movements such as eggs and chicken meat, which often trigger inflation. The government will also transfer volatile goods such as food products between regions, in order to control this inflation.

"We will do that by, among other things, establishing cooperation between regions. In areas where there is a surplus, the excess supply can be transferred to places where the goods are scarce," he said.

Another element the government shall control is low-cost carriers' paid baggage policy. A number of airlines like Citilink, Lion Air, and Wings Air have decided to charge passengers for checked baggage. The government will set the maximum cost for this service.

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