Papua Successfully Reduces Inflation During the Pandemic Period

Papua Successfully Reduces Inflation During the Pandemic Period

The Provincial Government of Papua claims to have succeeded in suppressing the inflation rate during the Covid-19 pandemic. Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in Papua, inflation for the April 2020 period was recorded at 0.45 percent and decreased in the May period by 0.31 percent.

Assistant II of the Papua Regional Secretary Muhammad Mus’sad said, the decline in inflation in May 2020 was due to the ongoing coordination between the Papua Provincial Government and Bank Indonesia, and all related components during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mus’sad explained, during the pandemic since March until now, his office has carried out several agendas to reduce inflation. Among others, ensuring that the supply of food and other food supplies is available.

"Thank God, in May, we were able to ensure a guaranteed stock even though our needs were increasing because there was Social Aid (social assistance) that we had to give to the community. And to this day we do not experience scarcity of rice stocks and can even go on for the next four months, "said Mus’sad in Jayapura, Thursday (6/25) afternoon.

As with other food supplies such as eggs and sugar, they experienced scarcity in the first two months of the implementation of social restrictions in the provinces of Papua, namely March and April.

"But for the cooperation of all parties, we can fulfill that scarcity," Mus’sad explained

The Assistant II for Economic Affairs and People's Welfare of the Regional Secretary of Papua said that another effort undertaken to reduce inflation was to intensify market operations to ensure there was no increase in prices of goods on the market.

"We also conduct a review in collaboration with the Food Task Force by visiting warehouses, malls, shops to ensure prices remain stable, there is no hoarding and we do that. So we can control prices, "he explained.