Inp.polri.go.id – Jakarta. With the recent increase of rice price, President Jokowi told that the social aid (bansos) of rice given by the government to the people helps balancing the rice price in the market. “There are no correlations [the increase in rice price] with the rice aid. Because this [bansos] instead could control the increase as the supply to the people is through bansos,” said President Jokowi on Thursday (2/15/2024). According to him, food aid given by the government helps people to meet their rice needs, and in turn, it would help them to sustain or even helps controlling the rice price in the market. “And that instead holds the price not to rocketed. This is a simple supply and demand theory. We gave their demand and it was distributed well, which automatically helps controlling the price,” explained Jokowi. According to Jokowi, the main reason of rice scarcity and the rocketing of rice price in the market is because of the harvest have not yet arrived in the market. Furthermore, there are several locations who are flooded such as in Grobogan, Demak, Central Java. “But I believe those issue have been resolved with distribution from Bulog to the destinations, to Cipinang Main Market,” said President Jokowi. He hopes that in the next two weeks, the rice price would return to normal. (ad/inp/pr/nm)