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.
However, the vice president added that the government had yet to study
the agricultural reports collected from the fields.
"We will wait and see until after the end of May because a grand harvest usually lasts until May," he noted.
Chief Economic Minister Sofyan Djalil remarked that the plan to import
rice is aimed at securing supply until the end of the year to curb
inflation.
"Import
is inseparable from the policy. If we face a shortage, we will import.
What is important is that it must not cause inflation," he stated here
on Friday.
Sofyan said the decision to import rice will depend on the situation until mid-year.
"The price is still high. It is good for the farmers, but we must also
take care of the consumers. By the end of June, we will know how much
the shortage is," he noted.
Sofyan remarked that the import policy was also implemented to serve as
a lesson to speculators, who have hoarded rice in the midst of minimum
production, thereby leading to a spike in the price of the commodity.
"The price of rice increases as the businessmen think the government
would not resort to importing the commodity. Therefore, they have a gut
to stock up. Now, they will think twice before doing it because we will
now import," he affirmed.
A researcher from the Trade Policy Development and Study Agency of the
Ministry of Trade Miftah Farid was of the viewpoint that rice imports
will not be necessary if firstly, the country's production even
increased minimally by just 5 percent from the current total production,
and secondly, domestic absorption by Bulog reached 8 percent of the
total production hike.
"It (stoppage of imports) will happen when production increases by 5
percent and absorption by Bulog reaches 8 percent," he noted.
According to Farid, when production increases, imports drop, but in
order to achieve zero imports, production must increase by a minimum of 5
percent.
This 5-percent hike was calculated based on the total production in
2014, when the yield of dried unhulled rice reached 70.83 million tons,
which was equivalent to 44.43 million tons of rice.
The hike amounts to some 3.54 million tons of unhulled rice, which is 2.22 million tons of rice, Farid pointed out.
Based on these calculations, production in 2015 must reach 78.34
million tons of unhulled rice, or 46.62 million tons of rice.
This year, the Agriculture Ministry has set itself a target of
increasing output by 3.84 million tons, with the total production of
unhulled rice reaching 73.40 million tons, or equal to 46.14 million
tons of rice.
Regarding Bulog's stocks, observer Koekoeh Santoso of the Bogor-based
Institute of Agriculture stated that the government should allocate
additional budget to Bulog for purchasing rice stocks from farmers.
Due
to the high price of rice in the field, Bulog is facing difficulties to
meet its target as set by the government at 4.5 million tons this year.
After all, there is a possibility that the government will cancel its
plan to import rice. Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel noted last Friday that
the government has yet to open the tap for import as the government is
still optimistic that Bulog will be able to absorb the farmer's rice
during the harvest seasons.
"In essence, the government has not yet decided to import rice. Rice
import will be the last option before others in its effort to meet
Bulog's minimal stocks," said Rachmat.
Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto also pointed out that currently, Indonesia still does not need to import rice.
"Until now, the policy is still about not importing rice. This is based
on the president's directives. If later, a need arises, then a thorough
and serious consideration would need to be made by Bulog, the Ministry
of Trade, and the office of the Coordinating Ministry of Economic
Affairs," stated Andi.
On
his visit to Maluku Province on Thursday (May 7), President Joko Widodo
emphasized that he wants Indonesia to achieve self-sufficiency in rice,
and in view of this, he will make every effort to avoid importing rice.
Therefore, the government will adopt a wait-and-watch approach until
the end of this month to ascertain whether Indonesia needs to import
rice for increasing Bulog's rice stocks this year.
Coordinating Minister for Economy Sofyan Djalil stated that the
government will decide by the end of May or early June whether it needs
to import rice.
"Evaluation to procure rice by Bulog will be made by the end of May or
early June. What is important is that the rice stock is secured ahead of
Idul Fitri," Sofyan affirmed.
Sofyan stated that the import plan still needs to be evaluated as
currently, the harvest is ongoing, and Bulog has stocks to suffice for
the next four months.
"Hopefully, Bulog can procure sufficient stocks of rice from the
farmers. However, there is no major cause for concern as stocks are
still adequate to last for the next four months," he noted after a
coordination meeting of economic ministers on Tuesday, (May 12).
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(T.A014/INE)
EDITED BY INE
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