REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TEMANGUNG -- The government has imported 2.5 million tons of rice in January 2024 in order to maintain the availability of government rice supplies and reserves (CBP).

The head of the National Food Agency Arief Prasetyo Adi in Temanggung on Monday (22/1/2024), said that these imports were made to overcome the rice deficit due to El Nino. That's considering the current rice stockpile in Bulog is 1.4 million tonnes.

He said this after accompanying President Joko Widodo to distribute rice aid at Bulog Warehouse in Temanggung.

According to him, of the 2.5 million tons, 2 million are imports from Thailand and Vietnam, while 500 thousand tons are the result of 2023 rice imports from Myanmar. Due to the impact of El Nino Indonesia has a shortage of 2.8 million tonnes of rice. Whereas the need for one month is about 2.5 million tons to 2.6 million tons.

The acceleration of import revenue, he said, is related to the preparation of the need for a program to stabilize food supply and prices ahead of Ramadan and Lebaran 2024.

“I am sorry, we had to take a bitter decision, we need to import (more of rice). But these are measured, so these imports go into Bulog warehouses and this will be used for government interventions such as food aid and then stabilization of food supply and prices,” Arief explained.

In addition, special needs, for example, for a premium were given to rice grinders, last year 200 thousand tons, this year the President approved another 200 thousand tons. He said that in 2024, more than one million hectares of agricultural land in Indonesia are already cultivated with rice, it is estimated that in the next two to three months there will be a harvest, then the government will no longer import rice.

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