President Jokowi Pays Impromptu Visit to Traditional Market to Check Commodity Prices

President Jokowi rides W175 Kawasaki motorbike to the Anyar traditional market in Tangerang, Sunday (4/11). (Photo by: Rahmat/Public Relations Division

On the second day of his working visits to Banten Province on Sunday (4/11), President Joko “Jokowi”Widodo paid an impromptu visit to Anyar traditional market, in Tangerang City, Banten Province. What made the visit interesting is that, the President rode a custom motorbike- Kawasaki W175 tracker – to the market.

At around 6:15 a.m. Western Indonesian Time, the President together with Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto, Tangerang Mayor Arief Wismansyah, and Tangerang Regent Ahmed Zaki Iskandar, began riding his motorbike from around Jalan M.H. Thamrin, Tangerang.

Along the way, a few people were seen greeting the President, and the President responded to their greetings, waved his hand and smiled.

Arriving at the market at around 06.33 WIB, the President was greeted by the sellers and buyers. They immediately surrounded the President to shake hands and take selfies.

The President then met a number of sellers, including vegetables, fruits, chicken, eggs, and meat sellers and asked firsthand about the commodity prices.

“First, inflation rate is below 3.5 percent, which is low. I want to check it on the ground. Is it the same? After conducting the checks, I found that the prices are stable,” the President said.

The President found that some commodity prices are stable. Some even tend to decline, for example eggs from Rp30,000 per kilogram to Rp20,000-22,000 per kilogram. The prices of rice vary between Rp8,000 and Rp12,000, depending on the quality, and the price of tempeh is stable at Rp5,000.

“I bought petai (stink bean), tempeh, tofu, and fish. The price of meat is Rp120,000 per kilogramwhile  melinjo nuts and chili’s  price is Rp30,000 per kilogram of each.When they rise, the prices can be Rp80,000 per kilogram,”the President continued.

According to the President, fluctuations in prices are a common thing. He also expressed hope that no parties would say the opposite to the actual price conditions on the market.

“That will make the sellers upset, all prices are stable. There are one or two commodity prices that increase. Fluctuations are a common thing. The price of meat increased a little, eggs’declined, it’s a common things. Don’t say that the prices at the market have increased. So if you go to the market, please tell the people out there what the real fact is,” the President added.

The President went on to explain that the market conditions must be organized, clean, not muddy, not smelly, and have a parking area, so that traditional markets could still compete with modern markets. “The mayor and I have agreed that we will revitalize the traditional markets next year, and the central and regional governments will share the budgets,” the President concluded.

After inspecting and interacting with the sellers and buyers, at around 07.30 a.m. Western Indonesian Time, the President left the market and rode his motorbike back and continued on to the next agenda. (BPMI/EN)

Translated by: Muhardi

Edited by: Lulu Wuliarti