Rice production will fall short of target<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Food and Horticulture A.M.
\nSaefuddin said on Thursday that he feared the country's unhusked
\nrice production would not meet the set target of 52 million
\nmetric tons this year because of a longer than expected rainy
\nseason.<\/p>\n
Saefuddin estimated this year's unhusked rice production would
\nreach only 48 million tons, equivalent to 29 million tons of
\nmilled rice.<\/p>\n
\"The initial target was 52 million metric tons of unhusked
\nrice or 31 million tons of milled rice. But heavy rains caused by
\nthe La Nia weather phenomenon and the scarcity of fertilizers
\ncould cut the output of unhusked rice to only 48 million tons or
\n29 million tons of milled rice,\" he said during a hearing with
\nthe House of Representatives Commission III for agriculture,
\nforestry, transmigration and food affairs.<\/p>\n
With a production level of 48 million tons of unhusked rice,
\nIndonesia would need to import about 2.5 million tons of rice
\nduring the next fiscal year, which will begin in April, he added.<\/p>\n
Rice consumption for the country's population of more than 200
\nmillion is expected to reach 33 million tons next year.<\/p>\n
The drop in the domestic production of rice last year forced
\nthe State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to import 4.6 million tons of
\nrice during the 1998\/1999 fiscal year, a 780 percent increase
\nover the 523,776 tons it imported during the 1997\/1998 fiscal
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Saefuddin also said that heavy rain and a lack of fertilizers
\nduring the planting season resulted in low-quality rice.<\/p>\n
Farmers had to sell the low-quality rice below the floor price
\nof Rp 1,500 per kilogram set by the government in December, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Saefuddin also said the government, through Bulog, would
\nprocure one million tons of unhusked rice produced by local
\nfarmers at the floor price in order to stabilize the price of
\nrice in the domestic market.<\/p>\n
\"The government has allocated Rp 1.5 trillion (US$176.47
\nmillion) of Bank Indonesia's liquidity credits to buy one million
\ntons of unhusked rice from local farmers in order to stabilize
\nprices,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"But the amount will not be enough to help farmers because 20
\nmillion tons of unhusked rice will be produced during the current
\nharvest which will last until May. The low procurement is due to
\nthe government's lack of money,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Bulog's domestic rice procurement fell by 683 percent to
\n249,000 tons last year, the lowest level in 25 years, because of
\na decline in rice production. In 1997, the agency procured 1.95
\nmillion tons of rice from local farmers.<\/p>\n
Rice bought and distributed by Bulog makes up only part of the
\ndomestic supply. The agency also imports rice to supplement
\nshortages in the domestic rice supply.<\/p>\n
Saefuddin said that the government was also discussing aid
\ncommitments with the Italian government and members of the
\nEuropean Union to provide food for the poor.<\/p>\n
He said that Australia's Victoria state had agreed to donate
\n260 tons of food for babies and pregnant women.<\/p>\n
The donation will be distributed to the needy beginning on
\nMarch 1. (gis)<\/p>",
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