Government Decides to Import Rice
Friday, 22 December, 2006 | 16:39 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The government decided to import 500,000 tons of rice in January 2007. Vice President Jusuf Kalla explained that the import is aimed at covering the shortage of Bulog's (State Logistics Agency) stock until harvest time in March next year. The decision was taken due to the fact that there has been a rice shortage.

According to him, stock will decrease because the government will provide 600,000 tons of rice from this week to February for market operations and the program of cheap rice for the poor. As many as 100,000 tons of rice will be procured this month and 250,000 tons in January and February.

The government, said Kalla, does not want to take a risk that there will be a disturbance in food stock reserves. “If we don't fill Bulog's storehouse, and there is an emergency such as a natural disaster, it can be a major problem,” he said after a closed meeting at his office in Jakarta, yesterday (21/12).

According to him, during the meeting, it was calculated that imports are needed to maintain Bulog's rice stock of one million tons per month at the minimum.

This week Bulog started to put on tender rice imports to private parties. Funds for importing, according to Kalla, will be taken from Bulog's additional capital from banking credit. “We won't take it from the State Budget because it needs the House's approval,” he said.

To ease anxiety over the rice price hike which is still in several areas, Kalla said rice distribution for the poor will be accelerated from late January to December.

The rice will be taken from the stock for the poor in 2007. Rice sales price for market operations will be Rp4,000 per kilogram. “So the rice price will return to a normal level at Rp4,500 per kilogram within the next two days,” said Kalla.

The vice president also confirmed that rice imports will not put farmers into a loss because the import sales price will not be lower than Rp4,000 per kilogram.
The government will stop rice imports at the harvest season, in March. At that time, said Kalla, the crop could reach three million tons.

Oktamandjaya Wiguna, Anne L Handayani and Arif Ardiansyah