President Jokowi Addresses Shallots and Sugar Soaring Prices
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May 13, 2020 | 03:07 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Wednesday announced that he had ordered state officials to investigate the cause that is driving the irrational high prices of sugar and shallots sold in the market.
“I'd like to know the cause of this issue, whether it is about distribution or the lack of supply, or whether there are people who are intentionally doing this for their own gains,” said the president in a virtual conference meeting on staple goods on May 13.
Jokowi asserts that there is a drop in people's purchasing power amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, which is the reason why he insists that the prices of staple goods must be controlled so that it can remain affordable for the people.
As of now, the price of shallots in the market is sold at Rp52,000 per kilogram which should have been able to be suppressed at the level of Rp32,000 per kilogram.
The price of sugar has also not shown signs of significant price reduction as it is being sold at Rp17,000 per kilogram compared to the highest price cap (HET) set at Rp12,500 per kilogram. President Jokowi asserts in the meeting that he intends to reveal the roots of this problem.
ANTARA
