Bulog CEO urges public not to panic, rice stock secure at 4.3 million tonnes
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Perum Bulog’s CEO Agmad Rizal Ramdhani has urged the public not to panic amid the dynamics of global geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East, as the national rice stock currently stands secure at 4,387,469 tonnes.
Rizal stated that the government rice reserve stock (CBP) is stored in Bulog’s warehouses until 1 April 2026, surpassing the previous year’s highest achievement of around 3.2 million tonnes nationally.
“We report that our rice stock has reached 4,387,469 tonnes. This is all in Bulog’s warehouses. So, the public does not need to engage in panic buying or stress over impacts from abroad. Our stock is sufficient,” said Rizal during a working meeting with the House of Representatives Commission XI in Jakarta on Thursday.
According to him, this figure demonstrates a significant improvement in the performance of national food procurement, while also serving as a strong indicator that domestic rice availability is more than adequate to meet public needs.
Bulog’s CEO also predicted that by the end of April 2026, total rice procurement could exceed 5 million tonnes as the harvest season continues in various national production centres.
He assured that all reported rice stocks are stored in Bulog’s warehouses, allowing for easy distribution at any time if urgent needs arise in various regions.
Given this situation, the public is advised against excessive purchases, as the government guarantees that rice stock availability remains secure and controlled amid developments in the Middle East.
Bulog also reported that the total national warehouse capacity reaches 5,589,963 tonnes, with the current occupancy rate at around 4,368,184 tonnes, leaving substantial storage space available.
The remaining warehouse capacity of about 1,221,779 tonnes is deemed more than adequate to accommodate additional rice stocks from future procurements.
Additionally, Bulog is processing the construction of 100 new warehouses in 2026 in line with the President’s directives to strengthen national food storage and distribution infrastructure.
The warehouse construction plan has entered the administrative and tender stages following the issuance of the Presidential Regulation, with hopes that all projects can be completed on target in 2026.
To maintain price stability, Bulog, along with the Food Task Force, routinely monitors market prices up to three times a week to ensure prices remain controlled.
“Frankly, we go to the market three times a week. It’s like taking medicine; we monitor food prices three times a week in the market with our friends from the National Police, the Ministry of Trade, and others to keep prices stable. And praise be to God, overall, they are stable,” said Rizal.
In addition to market monitoring, Bulog conducts weekly oversight of food producers and carries out market operations and affordable markets to respond to price increases in certain commodities.
He added that food prices are generally stable, although chillies remain a challenge due to high fluctuations caused by weather factors.