Jakarta, hitclubapk3 Indonesia
—
Ministry of Trade (
Ministry of Trade
) said the government’s top priority at the moment is maintaining availability
food
in areas affected by the disaster, namely in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra.
Director General of Domestic Trade (Dirjen PDN) of the Ministry of Trade Iqbal Shoffan Shofwan said that in a disaster situation, the government has not talked about prices.
“In the context of a disaster, we don’t think about price first. In the context of a disaster, it should be whether it is available or not. So price is not a priority at the moment. What is important is whether the goods are available or not. That is what we prioritized in the context of a disaster,” said Iqbal in a media briefing at the Ministry of Trade Office, Central Jakarta, Friday (19/12).
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According to Iqbal, the Ministry of Trade held a coordination meeting on December 8 regarding the National Religious Holidays (HBKN) Christmas and New Year which involved all provincial governments and distributors of basic necessities, including those from disaster-affected areas.
He mentioned that North Sumatra in the meeting ensured that food availability was not an obstacle, but the main challenge was in the distribution of certain commodities such as chilies, onions and vegetables.
For this reason, the Ministry of Trade is coordinating directly with the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) to ensure distribution continues.
“So apart from the main goal being in the context of saving human lives, another context is also the fulfillment of basic human needs. What is that? First it is a source of food, then other tertiary rights such as clothes, then baby diapers, and all kinds. So regarding the distribution, we are coordinating with BNPB,” explained Iqbal.
Regarding the condition of traditional markets, the latest data received by the Ministry of Trade shows that 65 markets were affected in Aceh, 44 in North Sumatra and three in West Sumatra.
Iqbal explained that the first step in handling was to clean the location, before determining the level of damage category to determine further treatment between markets with light, moderate and heavy damage.
Cleaning efforts are currently being carried out by the Ministry of Public Works (PU).
“The first priority is to clean up these markets. From the cleaning efforts, it should be seen later that these 65 markets were lightly damaged, how heavily damaged, how moderately damaged. Then we will categorize them,” he said.
“From there, we can take steps to deal with those with heavy damage, light damage, medium damage. But the main focus is to clean up first,” said Iqbal.
He said the priority was not only on trade facilities, but also residents’ homes and worship facilities that were affected.Economic support facilities such as warehouses are also included in the inventory and handling process.
Regarding reports of trader losses, Iqbal said there was no official data yet because currently people are still focused on recovery and survival.
“No, not yet (there have been reports from traders about losses). We have asked for a report, but logic says it’s impossible for them to report it. Now it’s survival first. So our focus is on that first,” he said.
The flood and landslide disasters in the three provinces also affected the stability of national food prices.BNPB recorded 1,068 victims who died as of Thursday (18/12) and 190 victims were still being searched for.
Meanwhile, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported an increase in the prices of a number of commodities in the second week of December 2025, especially shallots and chilies, which occurred in hundreds of districts/cities.
The average price of shallots has now reached IDR 46,851 per kilogram, or an increase of more than 15 percent compared to November, even reaching IDR 100 thousand per kilogram in several areas such as Lanny Jaya and the Bintang Mountains.
In the rice sector, the increase in the Price Development Index (IPH) occurred in eight provinces, including Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra, areas currently affected by the disaster.
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(del/sfr)
