In the current scenario, according to the article posted on Indonesia's NFA official website, the government is consistently facilitating corn distribution from producer centers to regions in need of a stable supply to maintain egg prices. This approach encompasses all aspects, from ensuring feed commodity price stability upstream to managing logistics costs downstream, requiring collaboration and joint efforts. Based on data from the Panel Harga Pangan as of May 14, 2023, the average egg price at the producer level stands at Rp 25,840 per kilogram, while at the consumer level, it's Rp 29,737 per kilogram.
Rofi Yasifun, the Chairman of the National Smallholder Farmers Association (PPRN) in Blitar, attributes the increase in egg prices to rising demand, with celebrations and life returning to normal after an extended holiday period. He emphasizes that this year's price peak has passed, and prices are gradually declining. According to Rofi, the current consumer price of Rp 26,000 per kilogram is reasonable, considering the increased production costs. He acknowledges that the government's efforts to maintain egg prices are effective and applauds the ongoing egg and chicken assistance program as an essential tool in stabilizing prices (NFA, 2023).
Moreover, several egg farmers, including Suwardi in Kendal, have benefited from the egg and chicken assistance program, appreciating its direct impact on small-scale farmers (NFA, 2023). This program has improved demand for eggs and chicken, ensuring that farmers can produce effectively. Suwardi believes that this assistance helps maintain a balance and security for all stakeholders in the industry, ensuring farmers can operate profitably. Regarding consumer-level egg prices, Suwardi explains that these prices are reasonable in light of the current production costs and the effort to establish a new equilibrium price.
4. Conclusion
The inflation of eggs was caused both by an increase in demand and a decrease in supply. In recent years, the nature of egg farming has been volatile due to external factors and disruption in their value chain whilst the demand for eggs keeps rising as Indonesia adds on their ongoing growth of mouths to feed. As a result of this agreement, the market's behavior inflates the prices of eggs to satisfy the demand. In numbers, internationally the prices of eggs have risen and so is the price of eggs in Indonesia. This hike in price greatly affects the lives of Indonesians as eggs are a necessity for Indonesians. Therefore, to minimize the effects of this price hike for Indonesian, several actions could be taken includes:
The Government should open the trade barrier for corn to increase its supply thus reducing the cost of egg production
The Government should continue providing Avian Flu Vaccination as well as making information and vaccination more accessible to more farmers
Civilians should start looking for alternate source of protein such as Tempe as a replacement for eggs should its price gets too high
These actions could potentially minimize demand as well as increase supply and put the prices of eggs in a more ideal eggquilibrium.
Bibliography
Abiyani, E. (2022). Analisis Faktor-faktor yang Mempengaruhi Permintaan Telur Ayam Ras di  Kabupaten Magetan Pada Tingkat Rumah Tangga. Journal of Economics and Social Sciences (JESS), 1(1), 11-22. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6859715Â