REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PALU -- Rice procurement by the State Logistics Board (Bulog) from farmers has dropped sharply on a number of factors, the state-owned agency said. Operational Director of Bulog Tri Wahyudi Saleh attributed the decline in its rice procurement to price being too high and shrinking harvest.

"Previously procurement all over the country averaged 100,000 tons per day, but now it is less than 100,000 tons per day," Tri Wahyuni said here on Friday.

Bulog, however, expressed optimism that stocks are still enough to meet requirement including in areas hit by natural disasters, including Palu. Palu was the hardest hit by a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 on the Richter scale that triggered tsunami leaving more than 2,000 people dead in Central Sulawesi late last month.

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Tri said Bulog still holds enough stock of rice, adding even in Central Sulawesi Bulog still has 12,000 - 13,000 tons of rice in stock. Altogether, Bulog has a total of almost 2.5 million tons of rice in stocks in its warehouses in various areas all over the country.

Meanwhile, head of the Central Sulawesi unit of Bulog Khozin said the recent quake and tsunami damaged a number of rice warehouses now needing repair in the village of Tondo Palu. However, Khozin said rice procurement has continued although the activity was halted several days after the quake.

He said he hoped the rice procurement activity will be normal to meet the target of 15,000, adding realization at present reached only 13,000 tons.

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