Fashion
The central bank of Indonesia, Bank Indonesia (BI), has launched a Strategic Food Price Center website (PIHPS) application which will serve as a reference of pricing information to help those in charge of making policy on inflation management.
BIs Governor Agus Martowardojo said, at the PIHPS launch here on Monday, that data collection was one of important factor in controlling price to manage inflation.
“The success of inflation policy application requires not only information but also supporting data. We follow the presidents directive, stated on April 11, 2016, to develop food information system center,” Agus stated.
He explained that at an early stage, PIHPS will focus on 10 food commodities that contribute more than 50 percent to inflation of the volatile foods category.
Referring to PIHPSs website at www.hargapangan.id site, the 10 strategic food commodities are rice, beef, chicken, chicken egg, red chili, cayenne pepper, onion, garlic, cooking oil, and sugar.
Controlling the prices of these 10 food commodities has become the foundation of BI and the government to control inflation of volatile foods.
Data presented by PIHPS is compiled from 164 traditional markets from 34 provinces. The data collected from 9.00 to 11.00 Jakarta time will be validated by BI at 10.00 to 12.00 and then published at 13.00 Jakarta time.
PIHPS can be accessed at www.hargapangan.id or by downloading PIHPS National at android and Apple iOS operating system for free.
In future, the Central Bank will develop the application by extending data coverage that includes modern markets, wholesalers, and producers, Agus remarked.
“In 2018, we will collect data at the producer level for the 10 commodities, and we will also develop the site, hoping that wider access to food information will gradually lower the price fluctuations,” Agus revealed.
Through PIHPS, the Central Bank wants to keep the inflation at 3-5 percent this year by paying particular attention to volatile foods, considering that its pressure from administered prices will be high following the energy subsidy adjustment policy that is applied this year.
BI and the government want to keep volatile foods inflation in the range of 4-5 percent year on year from this year.
The government has listed an overall inflation assumption of 4 percent in the 2017 State Budget.
