Big Homework, Bungo Still Chasing Inflation

Five hundred thousand spending money is not enough for a week, sir.." complained a housewife. The price of cooking oil has not completely dropped, plus the prices of other basic necessities such as eggs, chicken meat, chilies and shallots that seem to not want to miss are also skyrocketing. Recently, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced that Bungo Regency's inflation rate in July 2022 reached 1.05 percent. This figure had decreased from the previous month which was 1.43 percent when it coincided with the Eid al-Adha moment. This seems to be a warning, that the steep road against the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic is still not completely over. This post-transition condition still leaves a lot of homework for the government, both at the central and regional levels. Bungo Regency is no exception, when the government is struggling to fix the economic sector that was disrupted during the pandemic, the government still has to be busy with controlling the prices of basic commodities, which are still quite stifling.

What is inflation?

In general, inflation is a condition where there is an increase in the prices of goods and services in general and continuously within a certain period of time. The cause of inflation is due to many factors, according to the official website of the Ministry of Finance, there are at least six factors that cause inflation, including high demand for an item or service so that the price of the item or service increases. Another cause of inflation is an increase in production costs, an increase in money circulating in the community, and an imbalance between supply and demand. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted inflation patterns in Indonesia. From early January to July 2022, the movement of post-pandemic inflation did not decrease, but tended to increase. This is due to the high prices of several basic commodities for the community, such as chicken, beef, red chili, cayenne pepper, chicken eggs and shallots. The cooking oil issue has not yet been completed, the price of which is still quite high, followed by the price of chilies and shallots that do not want to be left behind, skyrocketing, housewives still have to set aside some of their spending money to buy gas cylinders and vehicle fuel, which are no longer subsidized. Until the end of July, it was recorded that the price of red chilies had reached 150 thousand, the price of red onions was 60 thousand and the price of chicken eggs of medium quality ranged from 1,900-2,000 rupiah per egg at the Bungo Regency Bungur market. Meanwhile, for kitchen matters, the need for red chilies and shallots still plays a fairly high role, coupled with the consumption of eggs as a source of protein that is quite affordable for the lower middle class. This is certainly a very difficult situation for the community, especially those with low incomes and fixed incomes who are the most affected. Based on data from the Bungo Regency BPS, the number of poor people until 2021 is 23.64 thousand people with a poverty percentage of 6.23 percent. This number has increased compared to the previous year (2020) the number of poor people in Bungo Regency was 22.07 thousand people with a poverty percentage of 5.80 percent. With a Poverty Depth Index (P1) of 0.92.

Follow-up

In response to this situation, the Bungo district government together with the TPID (Regional Inflation Control Team) and related parties should immediately take accurate and appropriate steps and policies to overcome the impact of inflation so that it does not spread further. The government can suppress the rate of inflation by doing several ways, including the efficiency of the trading system, controlling prices and stocks by holding cheap markets at several market points, as well as sudden inspections of a number of markets and distribution networks of goods to anticipate hoarding of food, especially for types of ingredients. staple food with the highest demand in Bungo Regency. Other Fiscal policies can also be implemented such as increasing agricultural production by cooperating with farmers to be more active in planting food commodities that are main for the community. Facilitate the inflow of the main commodities needed by the community from the buffer districts, stabilize the income of the community, especially for those with fixed incomes and agricultural workers whose income is highly dependent on the selling price of agricultural products. Setting the maximum price for the staple goods consumed by the community and supervising the distribution of goods, because if the large demand is not matched by the number of goods available, this will also affect the price of goods and also affect the regional inflation rate. In the end, this choice depends on the current policy direction of the local government, the sooner the local government takes policies related to controlling the inflation rate, the sooner this price increase dilemma will be resolved. This big breakthrough from the local government is certainly eagerly awaited by the Bungo community, who are starting to feel restless with all the problems of this price increase.