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Jakarta parking attendant cuts meals as food prices rise

Parking attendant Muhamad Yasin says rising food prices in central Jakarta have led him to cut back on meals. He says a serving of rice, tempeh and tofu that once cost 7,000–8,000 rupiah now costs 15,000 rupiah.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 4 independent reports from 5 outlets · Article text read from 1 of 4 reports · 1 article captured only in partHow it's made

View timeline · 5 entries
5 outlets2 regionsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Mostly CenterL 0 · C 3 · R 1 · 1 unrated
File photo
Photo: Medelam / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

What happened

Key facts

  • Muhamad Yasin, a 63-year-old parking attendant in central Jakarta, Indonesia, says rising food prices have led him to cut back on meals (per businessday.co.za).
  • Maximo Torero, chief economist at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, said food-price pressures are building and could have a greater impact toward the end of the year and into next year (per businessday.co.za).
  • Pakistan Today’s headline says a UN economist expects global food inflation to accelerate into 2027 as supply disruptions push prices higher (per pakistantoday.com.pk).
  • The World Bank said food prices in the September quarter rose faster than headline inflation in 22% of 150 countries it analysed, compared with 14% in the previous quarter (per businessday.co.za).
  • Wheat prices were up more than 30% in 2026, while rice prices in key Asian exporting countries had risen 10%–13% despite large inventories (per businessday.co.za).
  • The article says rice prices in Indonesia reached record highs amid forecasts of delayed rains (per businessday.co.za).
  • The article says bread prices in Egypt rose by a quarter and sugar prices in India reached a record high as a weak monsoon curbed production (per businessday.co.za).

The brief

Muhamad Yasin, a 63-year-old parking attendant in central Jakarta, says higher food prices have forced him to cut back on meals. The account, published by Business Day, describes how the increase is affecting one worker’s access to basic foods: rice, tempeh and tofu that previously cost him 7,000–8,000 rupiah now cost 15,000 rupiah. Yasin’s experience is set against wider food-price pressures described by Maximo Torero, chief economist at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Torero said those pressures are building across low- and middle-income countries and could have a larger effect toward the end of the year and into next year. He said the pressures were putting “considerable pressure on the system.”

The article cites World Bank figures showing that food prices in the September quarter outpaced headline inflation in 22% of the 150 countries it analysed. That share was 14% in the previous quarter. The FAO food price index, which measures monthly changes in a basket of internationally traded commodities, averaged 136 points in September, its highest reading since November 2022. The price changes described extend beyond Indonesia. The article says wheat prices were up more than 30% in 2026, while rice prices in key Asian exporting countries had risen 10%–13%, despite large inventories. Rice prices in Indonesia had reached record highs amid forecasts of delayed rains. The article also reports that bread prices in Egypt rose by a quarter and sugar prices in India reached a record high as a weak monsoon curbed production. The account does not connect those separate price changes to Yasin’s individual circumstances, but it places his reported meal cutbacks alongside price increases across several staple foods and countries. It gives no additional detail about how much food Yasin now buys or how often he skips meals. Manish Tiwary, ity. He described the environment as challenging and cited higher commodity costs as one contributing factor. Torero’s outlook points to the possibility of further effects into next year, while the reported figures show that food prices have already outpaced headline inflation in a portion of the countries measured by the World Bank.

Why it matters

  • Yasin’s account shows a direct household cost in central Jakarta: rice, tempeh and tofu rose from 7,000–8,000 rupiah to 15,000 rupiah, and he says he has cut back on meals.
  • The World Bank figures indicate food prices outpaced headline inflation in 22% of 150 countries in the September quarter, up from 14% in the previous quarter.
  • Price increases affect staple foods in several places: Indonesian rice reached a record high, Egypt’s bread prices rose by a quarter, and sugar in India reached a record high.

What to watch next

  • Whether food-price pressures intensify toward the end of the year, as Maximo Torero said they could.
  • Whether the effects of food-price pressures continue into next year, as Torero forecast.
  • Whether food prices continue to outpace headline inflation in the countries tracked by the World Bank.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
5 source articles · 5 unique outlets · 4 distinct reports
Outlet political mix: Mostly Center· 3 Center · 1 Right · 1 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Asia 60% · Africa 20% · Other 20%
Outlet political mix
Mostly Center
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
3 outlets
1 outlet
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 1 unrated outlet is not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
5 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among Center-rated outlets (3 of 4 rated sources); comparatively few Left-rated outlets have published on the event.
How we measure coverage

One source is from a wire service (AP, Reuters, AFP or Bloomberg), whose reporting other outlets often republish.

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The World Bank reported that global food prices had risen 83% over the previous three years.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. A strong El Niño developed, bringing drought and crop losses to parts of Asia and Africa.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. The FAO Food Price Index reached a record high of 159.7.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. India prohibited exports of non-basmati white rice.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. India lifted its restriction on non-basmati white rice exports.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

In July 2023, India restricted exports of non-basmati white rice; it lifted that restriction in September 2024. Such measures followed sharp rice-price increases during 2022–23, when weather-related production concerns combined with export limits by several suppliers.

The 2015–16 El Niño also brought drought and crop losses in parts of Asia and Africa, demonstrating how climate patterns can compound supply pressures. The structural roots include the 1994 Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization, which set rules for agricultural trade but did not prevent governments from imposing export restrictions during crises.

Original sources

1 of 5 articles · Africa · Show all

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