Agriculture Minister: Bulog's Rental of Rice Warehouse in South Konawe Proves Rising Production
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman stated that the leasing of a warehouse by Bulog in South Konawe (Konsel) serves as tangible proof of a significant increase in national rice production.
Amran said that the national government rice reserve stock (CBP) managed by Perum Bulog currently stands at 4.8 million tonnes until mid-April 2026, exceeding the highest achievements from previous years, which never reached that figure.
“The South Konawe Regent’s warehouse is being borrowed and leased by Bulog. Now it’s full; this has never happened before. This is a testimony from the Regent (of South Konawe),” said the Agriculture Minister during a statement in Jakarta on Sunday, while receiving a visit from South Konawe Regent Irham Kalenggo.
He explained that this production surge has made existing warehouse capacities insufficient, including those in South Konawe Regency, leading Bulog to lease additional storage space, bringing the total capacity to around 1.8 million tonnes overall.
The Minister emphasised that this situation differs from previous times when warehouses were often not fully filled, and in some areas, there were still empty spaces due to suboptimal production.
“Since independence, has there ever been a leasing of warehouses? Were they even full? The highest was 2.6 million tonnes. Now the CBP stock is already 4.8 million tonnes. Isn’t that impressive (President Prabowo Subianto’s policy)?” said Amran, who is also the Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas).
South Konawe Regent Irham Kalenggo stated that all available rice warehouses are now fully occupied, including government-owned facilities that were rarely used before.
“In my area, all the (rice) warehouses are full. We have two warehouses; the regional government’s one was always empty. Since last year, it has been borrowed by Bulog until now,” said Irham.
Meanwhile, the Head of Perum Bulog’s Sulawesi Tenggara Regional Office, Benhur Ngkaimi, contacted by ANTARA in Jakarta on Sunday, said that they currently have 40 warehouse complexes with a total storage capacity of 120,000 tonnes.
Bulog Sultra currently manages 104,000 tonnes of government rice reserve stock. Meanwhile, the absorption of paddy equivalent to rice has reached 38,000 tonnes out of a target of 119,000 tonnes for the whole of 2026.
Nevertheless, Benhur admitted that they have also leased 27 warehouses to face the harvest season, including those in South Konawe Regency, so that the state-owned food company in the area can optimally absorb paddy equivalent to rice from farmers.
“The number of Bulog Sultra’s own warehouses is 40 complexes with a capacity of 120,000 tonnes. The leased warehouses number 27 complexes, including two rice warehouse units in Konsel,” said Benhur.