Why eggs in Indonesia became so expensive
jakarta — A rally in egg prices in Indonesia to the highest in at least two years on lower supplies and good demand during the Fifa World Cup has prompted the government to intervene in the market.
The average retail price jumped 21 per cent to about 29,000 rupiah ($2) per kilogramme in Jakarta last week from a month earlier, according to data from the central bankrun Center for Information of Strategic Food Price. That’s the highest since at least July 2016, the earliest data compiled by the center. Average egg prices in Indonesia climbed eight per cent to 27,200 rupiah, the centre’s figures show.
Eggs are one of the key and cheapest sources of protein in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, where millions of people still survive on less than $2 per day.
The government wants prices at about 22,000 rupiah per kilogramme, compared with 30,000 rupiah in certain markets in Jakarta, Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said.
The World Cup helped boost consumption as fans ate instant noodles with eggs while watching football matches at home, Leopold Halim, secretary-general of the Indonesian Poultry Farmers Association and Information Center, said in an interview in Jakarta. Prices also gained due to lower supply as many farmers sold their old layinghens because of rising demand for meat, he said.
The government will intervene in the market, starting with supplying 100 tonnes of eggs in the greater Jakarta area and increasing supply in other cities, Sulaiman said. Eggs will be sold at the ministry’s retail stores at 19,500 rupiah per kilogramme, he said.
The price surge, which started ahead of Eid Al Fitr in June, when food consumption typically rises, should have come down by now, Yudianto Yosgiarso, chairman of the Indonesia National Poultry Layer Association, said by telephone. —