Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo has warned that the price of instant noodles could increase three times due to the increase in wheat prices in the world market, which Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan (Zulhas) has since denied.
The potential for a three-fold increase in the price of instant noodles was conveyed by Limpo in a webinar on the Strategy for Implementing GAP for Food Crops Stimulating Production to Anticipate the Global Food Crisis, on Monday 8th August 2022.
The increasing price of wheat, according to Limpo, has been impacted by the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine is one of the largest wheat-producing countries in the world, with an estimated 180 million tons of wheat that cannot be exported by Ukraine.
However, Hasan believes that the price of instant noodles will not increase three times.
“Now Ukraine is allowed to sell wheat,” he said to Kompas.com on Wednesday, 10th August.
The price of instant noodles will also not increase because the supply of wheat in the world market is still stable. Wheat-producing countries such as Australia, Canada, and America, which previously had experienced crop failures, are now able to harvest.
The Tradingeconomic site noted that the price of wheat in August 2022 was starting to come under control. The price of wheat on the Chicago stock exchange had reached US$1,277.45 per bushel, the highest in the last 25 years. Then on 11th August, the price of wheat on the Chicago stock exchange was US$803.27 per bushel.
“Wheat prices will decrease further in September 2022,” said Hasan.