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.
The Basic Necessity Market Monitoring System of the Trade Ministry views that the price of medium-quality rice has continued to increase. On Sunday (Jan 7), the national average price of medium-quality rice was Rp11,041, but on Monday, it increased to Rp11,131 per kg, while on Tuesday, it rose further to Rp11,177 per kg.
To maintain stability in prices, the government has fixed a ceiling price for rice. The ceiling price reference is set for medium- and premium-quality rice to prevent its price from soaring or preventing middlemen or traders who hoard the commodity for excessive gains.
The ceiling price will be imposed on rice sold at both traditional and modern markets.
The HET for medium-quality rice was set at Rp9,450 per kg and premium-quality rice at Rp12,800 per kg for Java, Lampung, South Sumatra, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, and Sulawesi.
In the Sumatra region, apart from South Sumatra and Lampung, East Nusa Tenggara, and Kalimantan, the ceiling price for medium-quality rice was set at Rp9,950 per kg and Rp13.3 thousand per kg for premium-quality rice.
For Maluku, including North Maluku and Papua, the ceiling price for medium- and premium-quality rice was set at Rp10,250 per kg and Rp13.6 thousand per kg, respectively.
In connection with the current hike in rice prices, the vice president had earlier held a meeting with ministers and related officials.
On the occasion, the vice president had urged the State Logistics Board (Bulog) to conduct massive market operations to curb the price hike.
Referring to the report of Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman, Vice President Kalla noted in January that a rice harvest will be conducted for paddy crops planted in October, so it will increase the rice stock.
To this end, he expressed hope that the market operations and harvest in January would be able to stabilize the prices.
"We have agreed to conduct massive market operations and to release all stocks of Bulog. We guarantee that at the end of January, the harvest will be conducted to ensure market operations and rice harvest," he explained.
However, the Ministry of Agriculture claimed that Indonesia did not need to import rice, as the domestic stock of three million tons produced in December 2017 will suffice the need of 2.6 million tons.
"We do not need to import rice, as you can see that from December to January, we had a big harvest in several regions, including Gunung Kidul District," Head of Agriculture and Human Resources Development Momon Kusmono stated during a harvest festival in Gunung Kidul District, Yogyakarta Special Region, on Tuesday (Jan 9).
The three million tons of national rice stocks were produced from six million tons dried paddy grains harvested from 1.1 million hectares of land.
Kusmono added that Indonesia has a rice surplus of 0.4 million tons that can be used as reserve while the government is working to increase the land area for paddy fields during the dry season between July and September this year.
The program is part of Minister Sulaiman's special program to revamp the tertiary irrigation system in 3.4 million hectares of land that also includes the construction of 2,278 long-storage reservoirs and the expansion of 1.08 million hectares of land.
With success achieved in implementing its programs, the government had increased the production of unhusked rice to 79 million tons last year, exceeding its target of 76 million tons, and stopped importing rice in 2016.
To help farmers meet the production target, the government had offered subsidy on seeds for 12.1 million hectares of land, 27.64 million tons of subsidized fertilizer, and agriculture insurance for 1.2 million hectares of land.
Gunung Kidul District is one of the main rice production centers in Indonesia, with 4.3 tons production of dried paddy grains from 21,073 hectares of land, or an average of 5.1 kg of rice per 25 hectares of land.
In order to bring down the current hike in the price of rice, the government has expanded its market operation network for medium-quality rice to better guarantee supply of the strategic commodity.
Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita noted that in expanding the market operations, Bulog released the government's rice stock in areas where the price had increased the most.
"With the market operations, the price is expected to remain in control in one or two days. We are ready to supply as much as needed," the minister remarked here on Tuesday.
Bulog said the market operations are already underway since November 2017, but the price of rice remained high as the supply was not sufficient to bring down the price.
***3*** (A014/INE)EDITED BY INE/H-YH(T.A014/A/BESSR/A/Yosep) 10-01-2018 17:00 |
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