Government Conducts Market Operations to Control Food Prices Ahead of Ramadan

Jakarta – Ahead of Ramadan 2025, the government has begun taking intervention steps to control food prices and supplies in the market.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Sudaryono, said the government is conducting market operations in various regions to ensure that staple food prices remain under control.

“God willing, on Monday we will start market operations, maybe at around 500 points throughout Indonesia. We are targeting that by the beginning of Ramadan the number will increase to 4,000 points,” said Sudaryono.

This market operation will cover various main commodities such as rice, cooking oil, granulated sugar, shallots, garlic, and meat.

The President instructed that the prices of several staple foods be lower than the previous year and even cheaper than prices in neighboring countries such as Malaysia.

Sudaryono emphasized that the stock of meat at Bulog is still sufficient to meet the needs of the community.

“The government is intervening in the market through this market operation so that prices fall. Meat trade continues, but the government ensures that prices remain affordable,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Acting President Director of Rajawali Nusindo, Wahyu Sakti, said that the market operation has begun and is targeting traditional markets.

“As an initial stage, the market operation was held in Banten Province, namely at Malabar Market and Borobudur Market in Tangerang, as well as at Kelapa Market and Rau Market in Serang,” said Wahyu in a written statement.

A total of 48,000 liters or 4,000 cartons of Minyakita have been distributed to the two cities.

This cooking oil is sold directly to retailers at a price in accordance with the Highest Retail Price (HET), which is IDR 15,700 per liter.

After Banten, the market operation will also be held in East Java in the fourth week of February.

“We want to ensure even and targeted distribution so that more residents can get cooking oil at affordable prices. The enthusiasm of traders is quite high with many coming to buy Minyakita,” added Wahyu.

On a different occasion, the Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), Arief Prasetyo Adi, emphasized the importance of maintaining food availability ahead of Ramadan, considering that the spike in demand can reach 20%-30%.

“Our job is to maintain the balance of supply and demand. Ahead of fasting and Eid, demand usually increases by 30%. Therefore, the government must ensure that food stocks are sufficient,” said Arief.

He also ensured that food supplies until Eid were still sufficient, but distribution needed to be regulated properly so that prices remained stable.