Bulog maintains enough stocks

JAKARTA (JP): The State Logistics Agency (Bulog) said yesterday the country had sufficient stocks of important commodities, including rice, sugar, wheat flour and soybeans.

Bulog chairman Beddu Amang said in a statement that the agency's stock of rice stood at 2.5 million metric tons as of yesterday. The agency also has 738,000 metric tons of sugar, 359,000 metric tons of wheat flour and 167,000 metric tons of soybeans in stock.

He said Bulog would continue to increase its stocks through the current rice harvest and June's sugarcane harvest.

"We will do our best to secure an adequate supply of important commodities," Beddu said.

He said the agency would be able to supply enough essential commodities to the market at reasonable prices.

"The government will continue to procure important foodstuffs and will continue imports if the country's supply is not adequate, although it would require huge subsidies," he added.

He said Bulog was collecting rice this month from stores in Java, Aceh, South Sumatra, Lampung, Bali and West Nusa Tenggara.

Beddu predicted that this year's rice harvest would yield 53 million metric tons of unhusked rice, up from 49.3 million metric tons last year.

"Besides, our rice imports continue to flow in and we are also receiving rice aid from other countries," he added.

Bulog lost its monopoly to import and distribute wheat, wheat flour, soybeans, garlic and sugar from Feb. 1 under the economic reform package agreed to with the International Monetary Fund.

But under a supplementary memorandum signed in March, the IMF agreed to maintain Bulog's presence in markets outside of rice because the private sector had yet to replace Bulog's role in importing and distributing basic commodities. (gis)