GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO ENSURE ENOUGH RICE STOCKS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 16 (Antara) - The government needs to take anticipatory steps in case of a possible scarcity of rice stocks ahead of the Christmas and New Year 2019 festivities.          The government needs to take such steps because the price of rice, especially medium quality rice, has begun showing an upward trend. Looking back to the past several years, the prices of basic commodities always increased and the stock of rice frequently declined by the year-end.          Hence, market operations are required in order to supply the people with rice and prevent rice scarcity. The Jakarta regional government, for example, will conduct rice operations, especially for medium quality rice.          President Director of Jakarta local government-owned rice firm PT Food Station Tjipinang Jaya, Arief Prasetyo Adi, said that his party was cooperating with state-owned Logistics Agency Bulog in an effort to launch market operations immediately in anticipation of a rise in the price of medium quality rice in Jakarta.          "In the near future, PT Food Station and all Pasar Induk Beras Cipinang (Cipinang Rice Wholesale Market) traders will coordinate with Bulog to immediately carry out market operations," Adi said at the Indonesian National Police's Bareskrim (Criminal Investigation Department) Office, Jakarta, Thursday.

GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO IMPROVE DATA ON RICE PRODUCTION

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Oct 24 (Antara) -  The government needs to improve its data on rice production, as accurate figures will be important in deciding whether the country requires rice imports or not.          Last month, there was a debate as to whether Indonesia needed to import rice, mainly because data on rice production was not the same at a number of state agencies.          Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita had permits for the importation of two million tons of rice this year, saying imports were needed to guarantee adequate stocks, in anticipation of shortfall in domestic supplies.         Therefore, observers and the ombudsman called upon the government to improve its data. Further, Vice President Jusuf Kalla, on Monday, said that there was no need to import rice, as the state logistics board (Bulog) still had adequate stocks of rice, reaching 2.2 million tons.          Al-Azhar University Criminal Law Observer Suparji Ahmad has recommended that the debate about the differences in data about rice should be resolved.          "The State Audit Board (BPK) must dare to audit it thoroughly. The difference in data is too great, and this concerns the lives of many people," Suparji said.          According to Suparji, BPK audit results can be used by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) as preliminary data if there are indications of fraud.

AUDIT NEEDED TO END RICE IMPORT POLEMIC

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 23 (Antara) - The polemic on whether Indonesia needs to import rice once again surfaces in public discourses, prompting the Ombudsman to call on the government to carry out auditing on rice stock and logistics warehouse capacity.          Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita has permits for the importation of two million tons of rice this year, saying imports is needed to guarantee adequate stock in anticipation of shortfall in domestic supply.          However, Head of the State Logistics Board (Bulog) Budi Waseso and Agriculture Minister Andi Amran were against the rice imports.       Indonesia will not need to import rice, as it has adequate supply of the staple commodity to meet demand until June 2019, Budi Waseso stated.          Waseso told the press in Jakarta on Wednesday (Sept 19) that he had formed a team involving the Agriculture Ministry, Bulog, and independent experts to analyze the national rice demand and supply.          "The team has recommended that we do not need to import until June 2019. Moreover, Bulog might also not have to release its imported rice stock. We have to maintain it. We should not rely on imports," Waseso, popularly known as Buwas, revealed.

HOUSE CALLS FOR DATA VALIDATION ON RICE IMPORT

By Andi Abdussalam

By Andi Abdussalam    Jakarta, Jan 27 (Antara) - The government, which boasted of no rice import last year, has decided to import rice this year, through the state-owned logistic board Bulog, amid opposition by farmers and other parties.         Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives, Taufik Kurniawan, expressed his hope that the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) will validate the data on the plan to import rice, which sparked controversies in the community of late.          "The data need BPS validity, and a disclosure of information is needed on the type of import," Kurniawan stated in a release on Saturday.          The validity of data is important to assure whether rice import is needed or not.          A joint assessment, conducted by the BPS and the Ministry of Trade a couple of years ago, has found that Indonesia's per capita consumption of rice was 114 kilograms per annum.          Under the basis of the estimated population of 262 million in 2017, with a per capita rice consumption of 114 kilograms per annum, the domestic needs for rice reaches about 30 million tons.

SEVERAL QUARTERS REJECT PLAN TO IMPORT RICE

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 18 (Antara) - The government has finally decided to import rice as prices of the commodity continue to increase, while supply in the market is declining, and stock at the National Logistics Board (Bulog) is not adequate for market operations.          The plan is to import 500 thousand tons of rice from Vietnam and Thailand by the end of January. It will be carried out by Bulog.          But certain quarters, including in a number of regions, such as Banten, Aceh, Central Java, Yoyakarta and South Sulawesi, do not agree with the importation of rice for a number of reasons.          Kulon Progo District Head, Hasto Wardoyo, in Yoyakarta, for example, refused the plan to import rice for market operations in his region. The average unhulled rice production in his region reached 125 tons to meet the local needs, he stated on Wednesday.          Therefore, the Association of All District Government of Indonesia (Apkasi) has urged the government to review its plan to import rice by crosschecking the real data on rice availability in the region.          Rejection of rice importation was also voiced by Rieke Diah Pitaloka, a member of Commission VI on trade affairs of the House of Representatives (DPR). "I reject it because the arguments for the importation of rice were not clear and not based on real data," she noted on Wednesday.

PRICE HIKE MAY TRIGGER GOVERNMENT TO IMPORT RICE

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 10 (Antara) - After successfully surpassing its rice production target last year and halting imports, the government may opt for importing the commodity if the current price hike exceeds its sanctioned reference price.         Vice President Jusuf Kalla has called to review the option to import medium-grade rice to stabilize the prices that continue to increase in the market.          "The import option is not prohibited, but we want that it should first be studied in case there is something necessary, such as constant price hikes that require immediate imports of rice," he informed reporters at the Presidential Office on Tuesday     The import option should be more open when the price of medium-grade rice reaches Rp12 thousand per kilogram (kg).          "However, we do not want to take risks. If one day the price still rises, then the import option must remain open. The Rp12 thousand per kg is the medium price, as the benchmark price is Rp9,300," he explained.          Kalla noted that the response in relation to the continuing upward movement in the price of rice, which has now reached more than Rp11 thousand per kg, has exceeded the highest reference retail price (HET) of Rp9,450 per kg.

CEILING PRICE OF RICE SET TO PROTECT CONSUMERS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 30 (Antara) - As a staple food of the country, rice is very important for Indonesia, which has a population of over 257 million. Its price stability therefore needs to be maintained.          To maintain price stability, the government has fixed a rice ceiling price (HET). The ceiling is set for medium and premium quality of rice to prevent its price from soaring or being taken advantage of by middlemen or traders who hoard the commodity for excessive gains.         With the HET, traders are not allowed to sell rice higher than the ceiling price. Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that the authority would impose sanctions against rice traders who set medium and premium quality rice price higher than its ceiling price.          "There will be monitoring and sanctions and, at least, revocation of the license for those who sell rice above the ceiling price," Kalla stated in Jakarta on Tuesday (Aug 29).          The government has formulated sanctions against traders who violate the regulation while waiting for the imposition of rice ceiling price on Sept 1.          According to Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita, the imposition of ceiling price of rice constitutes the government's real effort to protect the interests of consumers. "The imposition of the ceiling price will benefit the people or the customers as they can get rice at a controlled price. So, price control is effective," said the trade minister at the Presidential Palace Complex on Monday (Aug 28).

REGULATIONS, GOOD VARIETIES NEEDED TO BOOST RICE OUTPUT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, June 29 (Antara) - Rice is the staple food in Indonesia that needs to be regulated and developed in an effort to maintain the country's food resilience.          The Indonesian government should therefore introduce better rice import regulations, increase rice output, and maintain it amid declining rice farm land, researchers said.          Hence, they asked the government to create a regulation that can encourage a healthy competition in importing rice in order to meet the needs of food in Indonesia.          "The government should open up opportunities for other eligible companies to participate in the import of rice and other foodstuffs," Hizkia Respatiadi, researcher on trade and people's welfare of the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS) stated in Jakarta on Tuesday (June 27).       In addition to creating a healthy competition, the government, through the issuance of such an import regulation, can also make the price of rice competitive and beneficial for consumers.          CIPS also wants the government to focus on international trade to meet domestic demand for rice to offset the problem of land availability in the country. "Indonesia needs a policy that ensures food security for the people, by focusing on international trade and allowing the private sector to participate in food trade," Hana Nabila, another researcher on food trade of CIPS, noted.

AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS DEEMED SUCCESSFUL IN 2016

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 31 (Antara) - One of the aims of the government's programs in 2016 was to advance the agricultural sector, in order to regain the country's self-sufficiency in rice, as in the past.         Due to its efforts to introduce mechanized agricultural technology, repair damaged agricultural infrastructure, and open new rice fields, the government has been able to change the country's rice planting season from one to two, and even three times, per year.         With its success in carrying out these programs in 2016, the government increased unhusked rice production to 79 million tons, exceeding its target of 76 million tons of unhusked rice, and stop importing rice in 2016.          "Indonesia will not need to import rice, and it could even export the commodity to other countries, " Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said on Thursday in the village of Bhakti Rasa, Sragi subdistrict, South Lampung, on Thursday (Dec 29).           National production of unhulled rice rose to 79 million tons in 2016, from 74 million tons of unhulled rice  in 2015 and 70 million tons in 2014.

GOVT TO OPEN 200 THOUSAND HECTARES OF NEW RICE FIELDS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 2 (Antara) - Indonesia, which still imports rice to meet the needs of its 250 million strong population, will this year open up 200 thousand hectares of new rice fields.         The plan to increase the acreage under rice farms in the country by 200 thousand hectares is expected to help the government achieve its target of unhusked rice production of Rp76 million tons.         By increasing the acreage of the country's rice fields by 200 thousand hectares, the rice farms in Indonesia will cover about 9.0 million hectares.         Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman made this announcement in Sleman, Yoyakarta, on Wednesday.         "The new rice fields will replace the area that is now being used for other functions (such as for industry)," the minister said     As a country where rice is a staple food, Indonesia must always have adequate rice stocks, particularly in the face of two extreme dry and rainy seasons. During the rainy season, thousands of hectares of rice could be damaged while during the drought, thousands of hectares of paddy fields could also fail to produce any harvest.         On an average, the domestic need for rice in Indonesia is predicted to reach about 30 million tons per annum.

INDONESIA ENTERING RICE HARVEST SEASONS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 29 (Antara) - Targeting production of some 76 million tons of unhusked rice this year, Indonesia is entering a rice harvest season which is expected to yield 14.52 million tons of hulled rice.          "The grand harvest season is forecast to take place in the March - April 2016 period," Andi Muhammad Syakir, the head of the research and development center of the Ministry of Agriculture, said in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Monday.           Syakir made the remarks when reading out a written statement of Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman on the occasion of a simultaneous rice grand harvest in seven provinces in Indonesia.           In South Sulawesi, the function was centered in Sappae Village, Wajo District.  The seven province where the simultaneous grand harvests were conducted on Monday are Central Java, East Java, North Sumatra, and South Sumatra, in addition to South Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) and South Sulawesi.          Minister Amran Sulaiman attended the grand harvest in Cilacap District, Central Java, during the simultaneous harvest events.          Overall, the Ministry of Agriculture has set a production target for unhulled rice at 76.226 tons, Andi Muhammad Syakir said.

GOVT'S RICE POLICY AIMS TO OFF SET POVERTY

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 17 (Antara) - The government through state-owned logistics board Bulog will increase its rice procurement from farmers and import certain volume of the commodity this year in an effort to control prices and prevent the rise of poverty rate.          "The rice price is a decisive factor that could create poverty. If it is not stable it will increase the number of poor people. Therefore, rice will be imported so that prices and poor people will not increase while domestic need is met," Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Friday (January 8).          Besides importing rice, the government through Bulog will also increase its rice procurement this year from 2.7 million tons in 2015 to 3.9 million tons this year.          Therefore, Bulog sets a target to procure 3.9 million tons of farmers in 2016, of which 3.2 million tons would be bought through the Public Service Obligation (PSO) scheme and 700 thousand tons others through commercial purchases.          Procurement Director of Bulog, Wahyu, said on Sunday that the target of rice procurement this year was higher than that in 2015.          "Bulog will increase its rice procurement in anticipation of increasing demand for the commodity and rice price increase to beyond the proportional level," the Bulog director said.

RICE IMPORTS TO REINFORCE FOOD RESILIENCE

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 16 (Antara) - On paper, Indonesia's rice production is adequate to meet its domestic needs, yet uncertain climate conditions such as drought due the El Nino phenomenon, often disturb production or delay plantation seasons.          This leads the government to think of importing rice as part of its efforts to reinforce its food resilience and prevent an increase in the number of poor people.          Last year, for example, the government decided to import 1.5 million tons of rice even though the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) had predicted that domestic production would reach 43.940 million tons, well over the estimated domestic consumption at 33.36 million tons.          Indonesia was expected to harvest 75 million tons of dry unhusked rice, or equal to 43.940 million tons of rice in 2015, according to the BPS. However, the agency later revised downward rice production data to 74.99 million tons due to the El Nino-induced drought.          Despite being revised, data from the Ministry of Agriculture shows that Indonesia's rice consumption in 2015 will reach 33.36 million tons. Thus, the country will see a surplus of rice production.          In spite of the predicted production surplus, the government still decided to import rice.

INDONESIA STILL NEEDS TO IMPORT FOOD IN 2016

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 28 (Antara) - Although it claims to have had a surplus of rice in 2015, Indonesia still imported rice throughout the year and will continue to import food items such as rice, beef and raw sugar in 2016.       According to Trade Minister Thomas Lembong, the government will still face difficulties in avoiding the need to import food in 2016 because it needs to maintain supplies to prevent food price hikes throughout the country.          He said he was not yet satisfied, because of the upward trend of food prices. So, he will not be able to prevent food from being imported to strengthen stocks and meet domestic needs, while waiting for larger agricultural harvests in the coming several years.          Based on monitoring in the field, the medium-quality price of rice has now reached Rp10,675 per kilogram (kg), which increased from Rp8,939 per kg in September, while the normal price is approximately Rp8,300 per kg.

GOVERNMENT SEEKS TO REDESIGN "RICE-FOR-THE POOR" PROGRAM

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, June 26 (Antara) - The government will change the calculation system of its rice-for-the poor (raskin) program from being based on households to families that will increase the number of recipients from 15.5 million to 18.6 million next year.          Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa noted on Monday that the change in the calculation mechanism of the number of recipients is intended to cover all poor families in the country.          She affirmed that with the change in the basis of calculation, it is expected that the number of target recipients will increase to about 18.8 million since the previous calculation system was based on the number of households.          In fact, one household can have two or more families, which are eligible to benefit from the raskin program.          "We are now conducting verification and validation. Our previous system is based on a household approach, so the number of recipients is only 15.5 million. Some poor families did not benefit from the raskin program, as they live in one household. But, after conducting verification through the family-based approach, we found that there are 18.3 million poor families that have to be covered under the raskin program. We are working on this, and it will have implications on the state budget next year," Minister Parawansa revealed.

PEOPLE HAVE ADEQUATE RICE STOCK FOR FASTING MONTH

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, June 2 (Antara) - Indonesians, who will observe a month-long fast starting June 18, have an adequate stock of rice, a staple food commodity, which is now estimated at 6.97 million tons.         "What is important for us is to control the price of rice, which is now still as per our expectations," Chief Economic Minister Sofyan Djalil stated in Jakarta on Monday.         The minister expressed hope that the regional governments would work towards maintaining the purchasing power of the people, so that the national inflation rate would not increase due to the lack of food supplies.         "Yesterday, the president in a meeting urged all district/city governments to take efforts to control inflation, since if left uncontrolled, it would reduce the purchasing power of the people," the chief economic minister remarked.         According to Srie Agustina, the director general of internal trade of the Ministry of Trade, the volume of rice stock has now reached 6.97 million tons, which comprises 1.32 million tons in the State Logistics Board (Bulog) and 5.4 million tons of indicative milling stock and 246 thousand tons of indicative stock in 165 markets.        "We have a requirement of about 8.l million tons. There is still a deficit now. But, the 6.97 million tons does not include the rice produced in the May-July harvest period," the director general remarked.

PEOPLE ASKED TO REMAIN CALM OVER SYNTHETIC RICE ISSUE

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 24 (Antara) - While the law enforcing and other relevant agencies are still conducting investigations, the people are called on to remain calm over the circulation of rice suspected to have made of plastic substances.         The appeal to people to remain calm was made by Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Saturday who said that the Indonesian people should not be overly worried about by the synthetic rice issue.         "I don't know what the rice looks like and the motive behind its circulation. But I think the people should not be too worried," Kalla said at Sunda Kelapa Mosque in Jakarta on Saturday.          He said that the government was giving careful attention to the issue, studying the causes why the synthetic rice was circulated in a number of regions. "I don't think it is a big problem. If it is based on an economic reason, why should it be using plastic materials?" he questioned.          Early this week, the people in Bekasi District, West Java, were surprised by the issue of rice containing plastic substances sold at the local 'Mutiara Gading Timur' market.

POLICE INVESTIGATING SUSPECTED SYNTHETIC RICE

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 20 (Antara) - The local authorities are investigating the suspected circulation of synthetic rice that has sparked widespread uproar after reports on the discovery of plastic substances in rice that caused nausea and dizziness among the consumers.          The government is still investigating the reported fake rice, Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel stated on Wednesday.          "Yesterday, I already assigned my staff to conduct a laboratory test on the suspected fake rice to confirm whether it really contains plastic," he noted.          The Directorate General of Standardization and Consumer Protection at the Ministry of Trade is conducting an investigation after the Bantargebang police, Bekasi, West Java, found the suspected synthetic rice.          The widespread reports have created furor across the country, triggering panic among residents about the rice they consumed had contained plastic that might endanger their health.          "We are now investigating and checking it in Bekasi. We have sent the sample to the laboratory to examine it and are still waiting for the result of the examination," Director General of Standardization and Consumer Protection Widodo affirmed on Tuesday.          He remarked that the Ministry of Trade had never issued a license for the import of synthetic rice as his ministry could not issue a license for rice import without a recommendation from the Ministry of Agriculture.

GOVERNMENT STILL UNCERTAIN ABOUT RICE IMPORTS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 15 (Antara) - The government will still need to wait until May-end this year before deciding to import rice due to the difficulties being faced by the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to procure rice stocks from the farmers.          Bulog's current rice stock stands at only 1.2 million tons, lower than the safe level of 2.0 million tons. However, it is facing hurdles in increasing the stock by procuring rice from farmers. Bulog buys rice from the farmers based on a reference price sanctioned by the government.          However, traders or speculators in the market are offering a higher price as compared to the government-sanctioned price. Bulog is now encountering problems while purchasing rice due to a high price triggered by non-simultaneous harvest seasons.          Regarding the lack of stocks, Vice President Jusuf Kalla affirmed on Friday, last week, (May 8) that the government is always open to importing rice, especially when it is facing a shortage of the commodity.          "The tap for rice import is always open, in case our production does not meet the demand, and it is required to make up for the deficit," he stated in his office.          Citing an example, he pointed out that if there is a shortage of rice during the Islamic fasting month in June, it is possible that the country will import rice to meet the requirement.

INDONESIA CAN ACHIEVE RICE SELF-SUFFICIENCY THIS YEAR By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 21 (Antara) -- The government has predicted that Indonesia will achieve its rice self-sufficiency target this year, much earlier than President Joko Widodo's former goal of reaching this milestone in the next three years.          "We are confident that we will achieve rice self-sufficiency this year. Recalculations revealed that the national need for rice is only 28 million tons per annum. So we will be able to achieve the target this year," Vice President Jusuf Kalla said here on Friday.          Calculations made by the Ministry of Agriculture had found that the per capita consumption of rice in Indonesia is 124 kilograms per annum. So the government based its rice production target on per capita consumption of 124 kilograms.          However, following the joint assessment conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) and the Ministry of Trade, it was found that Indonesia's per capita consumption of rice is only 114 kilograms per annum.         So based on this figure of 114 kilograms, Indonesia will be able to become self-sufficient in rice production this year, much before the three-year target earlier set by President Joko Widodo.