Price of Tembus Chicken at Rp45 Thousand per Kilogram, Mendag Says Not Due to MBG The government assesses that demand certainty actually makes prices more stable. Red: Ahmad Fikri Noor

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Trade Minister Budi Santoso emphasized that the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program does not cause a rise in the price of native chicken in the market. Speaking at the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) office in Jakarta on Wednesday (18/2/2026), Budi conveyed that the program makes production more measurable due to the certainty of demand, thus prices tend to be stable. According to him, fluctuations in chicken prices before were more influenced by the rise and fall of market demand. When demand was uncertain, production adjusted accordingly, so prices were prone to fluctuations. "Before, prices went up and down because demand went up and down. When demand went up and down, prices followed suit. Now, when demand is like this (rising), there is certainty. Production follows, linearly, following demand so that prices tend to be stable," said Budi. He asked the public to look at price conditions comprehensively. According to him, there was no sudden price spike ...