$360m to secure rice supply
$360m to secure rice supply
JAKARTA (JP): The National Logistics Agency (Bulog) will spend about Rp 800 billion (US$360 million) to secure the nation's rice supply, an agency executive says.
"Bulog will spend the money to purchase rice domestically. The amount should enable the agency to purchase around 1.3 million tons of rice," Beddu Amang, Bulog's chairman, said yesterday.
Beddu said that Bulog planned to build up a total stock of two million tons of rice this year. He declined, however, to comment on Bulog's current rice supply.
"We will go all out to secure a national stockpile of at least two million tons," he said.
Indonesia became self-sufficient in rice in 1984, after being the world's largest rice importer for decades.
A severe drought last year slashed rice production by four percent from the 1993 level, down to 46.40 million tons of unhusked rice. As a consequence, the nation's rice stockpile has fallen to its lowest level in 15 years.
The 1994 drought forced Indonesia to import a significant quantity of rice for the first time in years.
The government has estimated that rice production will increase by 1.5 percent this year, over last year's level.
But despite the projected increase, the rice supply will still be lower than in 1993.
Beddu Amang said yesterday that the Rp 800 billion fund has been provided by the state-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia. He did not reveal the terms on which the funds are being provided.
He said this month alone Bulog had signed contracts for the procurement of 92,000 tons of rice.
To secure the procurement target, he added, Bulog would ease its quality standards for unhusked rice bought from farmers.
In January Bulog received about Rp 457 billion from the Ministry of Finance because the agency had already spent Rp 3.45 trillion of its Rp 4.4 trillion budget for the 1994-1995 fiscal year.
Bulog also oversees the importation and distribution of sugar, wheat and soya beans. Since its establishment in 1967, the agency has never yet released its accounts. (hdj)