REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, CIBINONG -- Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman conducted an impromptu inspection of rice in Cibinong Market in Bogor district, West Java, on Wednesday.
"I guarantee that the supply of rice and its price will be safe in the face of the Muslim fasting month," Minister Amran Sulaiman said.
The one-month-long fast will begin on June 18.
Sulaiman added that the price of rice at home was under control and rice stock was adequate to meet people's demand, which usually increases ahead of the fasting month.
The minister affirmed that no fake rice was found during the inspection.
Moreover, District Head of Bogor Nurhayati said that her office would field a team to monitor all markets and places of rice collectors to ensure that the commodity is not adulterated with synthetic rice.
"Information about rice suspected to be made of plastic soon spread to the public," she pointed out.
She hopes that if people encounter synthetic rice, they will report it to the authorities soon.
The government is still studying the reported fake rice that is suspected to contain elements of plastic, Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel said on Wednesday.
"Yesterday, I assigned my staff to conduct a laboratory test on the suspected fake rice to confirm whether it is really made of plastic," he stated.
Gobel added that his office was still studying the rice found being sold in Bekasi.
As the rice had been imported without a permit, the distributors that sold the commodity will be investigated, he affirmed.
The trade minister had inspected a number of traditional markets, including Cibinong Market, that day to check the distribution of plastic rice.
The plastic rice issue emerged in the last few days and has attracted the attention of various parties.
Hermanto, a legislator of Commission IV, which oversees agricultural affairs, of the House of Representatives, has urged the government to take concrete steps to prevent the distribution of the fake rice produced in China.
"The government must be able to guarantee that the fake rice will not enter the country again. This is important to pacify the people who have become restless due to the issue," he remarked.
He further noted that according to reports, the fake rice was made of a mixture of potato, batata and industrial synthetic resin, or plastic.
People have become restless and have asked for clarification on the issue for certainty, Hermanto pointed out.
"They need an explanation and concrete steps from the government with regard to the problem," he said.
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