The economic mobility of the community is getting better. With the smoother economic mobility, the greater the demand. It is noted that entering the beginning of 2022, inflation in January 2022 was recorded at 2.18% (YoY). This figure is still under control within the 2022 inflation target range of 3%±1% (YoY).
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, in his official statement, Thursday, February 3, 2022, said, “Increased mobility and economic activity of the people have pushed the demand side.”
According to circulating data, if you look at monthly data, inflation in January 2022 was 0.56% (mtm) slightly lower than inflation in December 2021. However, inflation in January 2022 was the highest in the same period since 2019.
According to Airlangga, the achievement of January inflation was influenced by movements in all inflation components with the core component being the highest contributor to the January Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation of 0.27 percent.
Core inflation was recorded at 0.42% (mtm) and was the highest since August 2019. Meanwhile, on an annual basis, core inflation was recorded at 1.84% and also the highest since September 2020. The increase in core inflation in January 2022 was mainly due to an increase in fish commodity prices. fresh, cars, house contract rates, and house rentals.
Furthermore, Volatile Food Inflation (VF) was recorded at 1.30% (mtm), lower than the previous month’s VF inflation of 2.32% (mtm) and the historical average in January of 1.66% (mtm).
Several VF commodities which dominantly contributed to January’s inflation included rising prices for chicken meat, rice, broiler eggs, and tomatoes. Meanwhile, the commodity that experienced a decline in prices was red chili.
Prices Increase of Some Basic Materials
Regarding the increase in rice prices last January, this was caused by low harvests in November-December 2021 and accompanied by hydrometeorological occurrences in early 2022.
The price of rice at mills increased by 2.23% (mtm), while at retail it increased by 0.94% (mtm). This condition is estimated to continue in February although not as high as January. He predicts that the price of rice will return to stability starting in March. This is because March has entered the harvest season.
Meanwhile, cooking oil, which initially became the most dominant commodity contributing to inflation in 2021 with a share of 0.31%, is currently relatively under control with an inflation contribution of 0.01% in January 2022.
Airlangga added in his official statement, “The government has made efforts to stabilize cooking oil prices. Previously, a policy was issued to ensure that the public can get the price of packaged cooking oil at an affordable price of Rp. 14,000.00 per liter, starting on January 19, 2022. Then, to anticipate the increase in the price of migraine, the government has set the Highest Retail Price (HET). for cooking oil. This HET policy is effective from February 1, 2022.”
Based on data from the Strategic Food Price Information Center (PIHPS), the price of cooking oil showed a downward trend at the end of January, although the monthly average was still increasing compared to December 2021.
The increase in the prices of several food commodities was also reflected in the increase in the Farmer’s Exchange Rate (NTP) in January 2022. The national NTP in January 2022 was 108.67 or an increase of 0.30% compared to the previous month’s NTP. The increase in NTP shows that farmers can enjoy the benefits of their production.
In other sectors, the sub-sector that experienced the highest increase was the FTT for the Food Crops Sub-sector at 0.98%. This is due to the increase in grain prices.
The price of farmer’s grain increased by 4.96% (mtm) which pushed up the price of rice at mills and retail. Then followed by the NTP of the Livestock Sub-sector which increased by 0.43% and was at the level of 100.19.
