Government Coordinates with Producers to Control Price Hike

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The Indonesian government is coordinating with producers to restrain the fuel price hikes already implemented, and those that are due to increase incrementally. Minister of Industry and Trade Rini Suwandi announced this in a press conference held after the opening of PT Honda Prospect Motors in Jakarta today (18/1). "At least, if there are to be price hikes, they will be kept to the minimum," she said. Rini admitted the increase in fuel prices would likely lead to higher transportation costs. However, she predicted such increases would only reach around four to five percent as fuel prices only contribute 20 percent of the total operational costs for transportation. She added that with the fuel price hike operational costs might increase by 5 to 7-percent increase. Regarding efforts to restrain the price hike for rice, Rini said the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) were planning new policies. This team will have to wait for the results of the mass harvests due to take place between February and March 2002. “Even though we have managed to decrease the price of rice so that this has reached quite reasonable levels now, we hope it will stay that way and not become too low, so that farmers aren't burdened when the mass harvest comes about soon,” Rini said.