Bulog CEO says potential Godzilla El Niño will not disrupt rice absorption
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The President Director of Perum Bulog, Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani, has emphasised that the potential for an extreme El Niño, or Godzilla El Niño, will not disrupt national rice absorption because various anticipatory schemes have been thoroughly prepared.
Rizal stated that the company has prepared several schemes, from normal to alternative ones, to ensure that the absorption of rice production continues optimally amid the potential for extreme climate disruptions.
“Insya Allah (rice absorption) will not be disrupted; we have prepared the schemes—normal scheme, alternative scheme one, alternative scheme two,” said Rizal when met after a meeting on agricultural downstreaming with Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman and the Food SOE at the Ministry of Agriculture’s head office in Jakarta on Monday.
He explained that all these schemes have taken into account the possible impacts of El Niño, so the anticipatory measures formulated can maintain the stability of domestic food supply and prices.
In addition, Bulog has also anticipated global geopolitical developments, including potential disruptions in the Middle East region, which could affect the stability of the economy and the distribution of national food commodities.
In its calculations, Bulog has ensured that various scenarios have been recalculated to keep prices stable even if there is pressure from external global factors.
Rizal mentioned that in terms of availability, the national rice stock managed by the food SOE has reached around 4.3 million tons and is targeted to increase to 4.5 million tons by April 2026.
Meanwhile, the realisation of rice absorption from January to March has reached 1.3 million tons, which is the highest achievement in history for a three-month period.
“The absorption of 1.3 million tons from January to March is the highest in history. It has never reached 1.3 million tons in three months before; this is the first time, alhamdulillah,” said Rizal.
He emphasised that this achievement demonstrates a significant improvement in the performance of national rice absorption, while also strengthening food security amid various challenges faced by the agricultural sector.
To support storage capacity, Rizal added, the government has issued a presidential instruction regarding the construction of new warehouses, which will soon be followed up through cross-ministerial coordination meetings.
Bulog is also still renting additional warehouses with a capacity of around 2 million tons to anticipate the increasing stock in the coming period.
With a total storage capacity of around 6 million tons, Bulog ensures there is still sufficient space to accommodate additional stock to maintain national rice supply stability.
“We have Bulog’s warehouse capacity of 4.3 million tons currently. Whereas what we rent is (capacity) 2 million (tons). So, we anticipate (warehouse capacity) of 6 million tons, thus there is still room for further additions,” said Rizal.
It is known that Perum Bulog has a target absorption of four million tons of rice equivalent and one million tons of corn from domestic farmers throughout 2026, as part of the strategic plan to strengthen national food security.