Bulog suffer a deficit of Rp 115 billion
Bulog suffer a deficit of Rp 115 billion
JAKARTA (JP): The National Logistics Agency (Bulog), which controls domestic trade of various agricultural commodities, suffered a deficit of Rp 115 billion (US$52.3 million) in 1993- 94.
Chatim Baidaie of the Government Audit Agency (BPKP) said Bulog's 1993-94 financial statement shows that the deficit was partly caused by Bulog's inconsistency in adopting standardized auditing principles.
Bulog also failed last year to carry out effective distribution of commodities which it controlled, he said last week.
However, Bulog won unqualified support from BPKP, he said.
Chatim explained that from qualified rice sales alone, Bulog suffered loses of up to Rp 18 billion last year because the quality of its rice was decreasing.
Commenting on the audit results, Bulog's chief Beddu Amang argued that it was very hard for Bulog to avoid a deficit while carrying out massive market operations in rice during the 1993-94 fiscal year.
"It's normal for Bulog to enjoy an operational surplus or suffer a deficit because its mechanism is already clear. The deficit for that fiscal year was mainly caused by our rice market operations," said Beddu, who was installed as Bulog's chief last month to replace State Minister of Food Ibrahim Hasan.
Ibrahim headed Bulog since March 1993.
The government separated the function of Bulog from the office of the state minister of food amid growing concern over its decreasing rice stocks, which reached its lowest level -- less than 200,000 tons -- in 15 years.
Beddu said Bulog's 1993-94 deficit was still lower than its 1986-87 deficit of Rp 178 billion, which was "also caused by massive market operations in rice."
Subsidy
Despite the 1993-94 deficit, Beddu said that Bulog no longer relies on government subsidies to carry out its mission to secure food supplies.
Beddu noted that Bulog's 1993-94 deficit could be offset by its 1992-93 surplus, which reached almost Rp 1 trillion.
Bulog, set up in 1967 by the Soeharto administration, is the sole authority in the importation and distribution of rice and agricultural products like sugar, wheat, corn and soybean.
Bulog's policy of controlling rice supplies has been worthwhile, evidenced by Indonesia's success in reaching self- sufficiency in rice in 1984.
However, the World Bank blatantly criticized Bulog's policies on sugar, soybean and wheat in its annual country report last year.
Analysts say the burden of Bulog's monopoly tends to fall on the consumers, while the benefits fall on a small group of producers, including PT Bogasari Flour Mills, Indonesia's only flour plant.
BPKP also scrutinized Bulog deals with Bogasari. Bogasari receives its wheat from Bulog but pays for it after the products are marketed. BPKP said that Bogasari still owed Bulog Rp 135 billion for the 1993-94 fiscal year.
When asked, Beddu explained last week that out of the Rp 135 billion, only Rp 35 billion can be considered as Bogasari's debt to Bulog. "I think it has been paid," he said.
The rest (Rp 100 billion), Beddu said, is not a real debt because it is in the form of wheat stocks. "It's because we cannot sell wheat for cash."
Sudwikatmono, a top executive of the Salim Group which controls Bogasari, said recently that Bogasari owed Rp 94 billion to the logistics agency in the form of wheat stocks. (rid)9