Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian government has ensured that the supply and price stability of broiler chicken meat will remain under control ahead of Eid al-Fitr through strengthened supply, distribution monitoring, and cross-sector coordination to maintain national food stability.Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian highlighted the presence of intermediaries in the broiler chicken supply chain that could potentially trigger price fluctuations. He urged authorities to map affected regions and identify the causes of these shifts.“Regarding broiler chicken meat, the National Food Agency (Bapanas) must examine which regions are experiencing price increases and determine the causes,” the minister said in a statement on Tuesday.According to the minister, price increases do not occur at the farm level but emerge during distribution when intermediaries purchase chicken from farmers and resell it to markets at higher prices.Despite these challenges, data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) show that broiler chicken prices have started to correct.The number of regions experiencing increases in the Price Development Index (IPH) for broiler chicken meat has also begun to decline.As of the first week of March, the number of regions recording IPH increases fell to 176 districts and cities.This figure is lower than in the third and fourth weeks of February, which recorded 198 and 209 districts and cities, respectively.Conversely, the number of regions experiencing a decline in the IPH for broiler chicken meat rose to 96 districts and cities. Bapanas Head and Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman stated that the government would act firmly against middlemen causing price anomalies.From the supply side, national broiler chicken meat stocks remain safe, with a projected surplus of 591,300 tons by the end of March.The government has intervened in the market through the Cheap Food Movement (GPM) program. Under this initiative, the public can purchase premium-quality frozen chicken meat at the reference selling price of Rp40,000 per kilogram.The frozen chicken GPM program is currently available at more than 1,200 outlets across 17 provinces and will run until one day before Eid al-Fitr.