Current rice stocks reach 2.7m tons
SEMARANG, Central Java (JP): Domestic rice procurements by the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) have reached 1.2 million tons, bringing the country's total rice stock to 2.7 million tons, an official says.
Bulog's deputy for supervision, Irfansyah, said he is optimistic that although stocks from domestic procurements now reach only 1.2 million tons, the agency will be able to achieve the procurement target of two millions tons for the current 1996/1997 fiscal year, which ends next March.
Irfansyah said that Indonesia's current rice stocks of 2.7 million tons -- of which some 1.5 million tons are derived from imports -- is enough to guarantee food security until the upcoming general elections in 1997.
He said the agency plans to buy more rice from local farmers in the next few months as major harvests in South Sulawesi are expected to take place in September, during which 100,000 to 200,000 tons of rice will be harvested.
"By the end of this year, domestic procurement is expected to reach 1.5 million tons. I am optimistic this can be achieved, especially with the start of the government's one-million-hectare rice field megaproject," Irfansyah said.
Under the megaproject, one million hectares of peat land in Central Kalimantan will be converted into agricultural land, most of which will become rice fields.
Irfansyah said that small parts of the megaproject can start harvesting their first crop this year.
Bulog chairman Beddu Amang said earlier this year the country's accumulated rice stock is expected to reach four million tons by the end of this year, of which some 1.8 million tons will be used to cater to the needs of public servants and Armed Forces personnel.
Bulog, which was established in 1967, is charged with maintaining the price stability of basic food commodities such as rice, sugar and flour, through buffer-stocking and market interventions.
Indonesia, a significant rice producer, turned to imports in late 1994 after adverse weather conditions hit domestic harvests. The country first reached self-sufficiency in rice in 1984.
Last year, Indonesia produced 49 million tons of unhusked rice, compared to 46.4 million tons in 1994 and 48.14 million tons in 1993. (har/pwn)