Jakarta, Aug 29 - Indonesia's finance minister said on Friday that higher spending on food during the Ramadan fasting month, which begins next week, would have less inflationary impact this year compared to 2007 thanks to adequate food stocks.
"Inflation tends to go up during Ramadan, but because the price of sugar and cooking oil declined, and price of rice remains stable, then inflationary pressure during Ramadan will be less," Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told a press conference.
Trade Minister Mari Pangestu, speaking at the same press conference, said that overall, food prices might increase by 5-10 percent during the Muslim fasting month.
But Pangestu said food stocks were likely to remain secure until the end of the year, adding that rice stocks were estimated at 8.2 million tonnes at the end of August.
"Until the end of the year, stocks of a number of foodstuffs are more than enough," Pangestu said. "There are no concerns over shortages."
Separately, Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono said that rice stocks were expected to fall to 3.7 million tonnes by the end of this year.
Rice is the staple food for Indonesia's population of 226 million. Food prices are a very sensitive issue in a country where millions live on less than $2 a day, and where prices of many basic foods have soared.
Demand for food and clothing usually increases ahead of the Eid al-Fitr celebrations which mark the end of the fasting month.
Indonesia's annual inflation hit 11.9 percent in July, near a two-year high, after the government raised the price of subsidised fuels by an average of 30 percent in May.