Jakarta, Feb. 21 -- President Prabowo Subianto has instructed his ministers to reduce the prices of staple commodities ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, expected to begin in early March.

This was conveyed by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sudaryono after a luncheon at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Friday.

"The president wants prices to drop. They must be lower than last year's Ramadan, and certain items must be cheaper than in Malaysia," Sudaryono said.

To achieve this, he added, a team from the Ministry of Agriculture will conduct market operations at 500 locations across the country starting February 24.

He affirmed that the number of market operation locations is targeted to increase to 4,000 by the start of Ramadan.

"We...