Agriculture Minister states national rice stock reaches highest level

Surabaya (ANTARA) - Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman stated that the current national rice stock has reached the highest figure in the history of independent Indonesia, at 5.3 million tonnes, and is estimated to increase to 5.5 million tonnes by the end of the month. “Praise be to God, today we have achieved the highest stock in history at 5.3 million tonnes. Hopefully, by the end of the month, it will be 5.5 million tonnes. And this is the highest during the Republic’s independence,” he said during a break at the Forum General Discuss (FGD) themed “Realising Sustainable Food Self-Sufficiency for Government Food Reserves” at the Bulog East Java Rental Warehouse Complex in Romokalisari Warehousing, Surabaya, on Thursday. He stated that with such a large stock condition, farmers’ welfare has experienced a significant increase. According to him, the Farmers’ Exchange Rate (NTP) is the highest in the last 33 years based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). “We see now that farmers’ welfare is increasing, the NTP is the highest in 33 years according to BPS data,” he said. He also mentioned that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the agricultural sector has jumped from 0.67 per cent to 5.7 per cent during President Prabowo Subianto’s administration. “Now it has risen to 5.7 per cent, the highest in 25 years and possibly the highest in history. This is very high,” he said. Amran emphasised that all these achievements are based on official data from BPS, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the United States government. He stated that national rice production is around 34.6 million tonnes with a surplus of about 4 million tonnes. “This is not the word of the Ministry of Agriculture, not the word of the Agriculture Minister. FAO says our production is 34.6 million tonnes. The United States also says 34.6 million tonnes. So three data sources from the world and national level say production is around 34 million tonnes with a surplus of 4 million tonnes,” he said. He also compared the current rice stock achievement with the era of President Soeharto in 1984 when Indonesia received a FAO award with Bulog stock of 2.6 million tonnes. Now, according to Amran, Bulog’s stock has reached more than 5 million tonnes, forcing the government to rent additional warehouses. “Warehouse capacity is only 3 million tonnes. Now 5 million tonnes, already renting 2 million tonnes. If this data is not true, where is the warehouse head? He would be imprisoned,” he said. The Head of Bulog East Java Region, Langgeng Wisnu Adinugroho, said that his side continues to add warehousing capacity to accommodate the increasing food stock during the harvest season. Currently, Bulog East Java has rented hundreds of additional warehouse complexes spread across various regions. “In East Java, we have already rented 190 warehousing complexes. In units, there are 223 warehouses across East Java with a total capacity of 650,000 tonnes,” said Langgeng. He explained that of the total rented warehouses, the occupancy rate is now around 80 per cent. If paddy and rice absorption remains high during the harvest season, Bulog will add more rented warehouses. “If the harvest is still abundant, we will rent more,” he said. The FGD was attended by Bulog Director Lieutenant General TNI (Ret.) Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani, several deans from the Faculties of Agriculture and Food Security at Andalas University, Brawijaya University, and State University of Surabaya, agricultural observers, farmer representatives and traders, student councils from several universities in East Java, farmer group associations, and other community organisations.