Editor’s Note
- Mayor of Medan visits markets to check if stocks and prices remain stable
- Prices of basic necessities remain relatively stable.
- Beef prices are lower than last year.
- Rico Waas guarantees sufficient food stock for Eid al-Fitr
- Mayor urges vendors to avoid price gouging
Mayor of Medan visits markets to check if stocks and prices remain stable
In the run-up to Eid al-Fitr 1447H, Mayor Rico Tri Putra Bayu Waas of Medan conducted a quick inspection of the main markets in Medan on Monday (March 16, 2026) to guarantee price stability and the availability of basic necessities.
During the inspection, Rico Waas was accompanied by Rudy B. Hutabarat, head of the Bank Indonesia representative office for the province of North Sumatra; Anggia Ramadhan, director of the Medan public market; and heads of relevant regional government agencies within the municipality of Medan. The traditional Petisah market was the first market Rico Waas and his entourage visited.
Rico Waas personally visited the stalls selling various vegetables, chicken, beef, rice, and eggs.
Rico Waas spoke with the vendors to directly assess the prices and availability of basic necessities.
The prices of basic necessities remained relatively stable.
In addition to the Petisah market, the Medan municipal official also visited the Sei Sikambing market and the Berastagi supermarket on Jalan Gatot Subroto.
Following this inspection, Rico Waas noted that the prices of various basic necessities had remained relatively stable.
Beef prices were lower than last year.
“According to my fellow traders, for example, there is a price drop for chicken. The price of beef, on the other hand, has remained stable at 135,000 rupiah, even better than last year. Last year, the price was still around 150,000-155,000 rupiah,” said Rico Waas.Rico Waas continued that the price of red peppers has shown a slight increase.
However, Rico Waas emphasized that the price is still below the highest selling price (HET).
“We have asked PD Pasar to investigate the cause of the price increase for red peppers and to intervene immediately to lower prices,” emphasized Rico Waas.
Rico Waas guarantees sufficient food supply for Eid al-Fitr
Rico Waas also appealed to the residents of Medan not to panic and to stock up en masse. He assured that, based on reports from the field, there are sufficient food supplies to meet the needs for Eid al-Fitr.
“The public need not worry. The supplies are sufficient. I have instructed the officials of PD Pasar to continuously monitor the supply of goods to prevent sudden shortages in the market,” he added.
An interesting aspect of this inspection was that the Municipality of Medan, in cooperation with Bank Indonesia, has introduced an incentive program to alleviate the burden on the community while simultaneously promoting digital payments via QRIS.
The head of the Bank Indonesia representative office for the province of North Sumatra, Rudy B. Hutabarat, explained that people can buy 1 kg of beef and 1 kg of chicken for 1 rupee with QRIS and receive a bonus. “With beef, you get a bonus carcass of about a kilo. And with chicken, you get 10 eggs when you buy 1 kilo. That is quite a lot, considering we have been buying a lot lately,” said Rudy.
Mayor wants vendors not to immediately drive up prices to the highest price
In response to the rising price of red peppers on the market, Anggia Ramadhan, director of the Medan City Market PUD, explained that one of the strategies they will implement is establishing strong communication channels between market vendors and distributors.
This is intended to maintain a smooth supply chain and keep prices affordable for the public.
“The mayor wants vendors not to immediately drive up prices to the highest selling price (HET). If they can still sell the products for a reasonable price, for example 35,000 or 36,000 Indonesian rupees, that is better for preserving people’s purchasing power,” he said.
