Drought not to cause shortage of rice due to adequate supply

JAKARTA (JP): This year's long dry season is unlikely to cause a food shortage because the 800,000 tons of rice borrowed by foreign countries guarantees an adequate domestic supply, an official said.

The secretary of the State Ministry of Food/Chairman of the Logistic Board, Sapuan, told reporters in Bali over the weekend that the borrowing countries are scheduled to return 500,000 tons of the rice borrowed this fiscal year.

They include the Philippines, Cuba and Vietnam.

"The return of the 500,000 tons to Indonesia is based on the schedule, not because we asked them to return the rice due to the drought," Sapuan said as quoted by Antara.

Indonesia started to lend its rice surplus in 1985 when the domestic market was oversupplied and has lent a total of two million tons of rice, of which 1.2 million tons have been returned. The rice borrowed by other countries, therefore, now stands at 800,000 tons.

The Meteorological and Geophysics Agency reported last Friday that the widespread drought threatens vast food crops across Indonesia. Some parts of Java, Bali, East and West Nusa Tenggara, East Timor, South Sumatra and the western part of South and Central Sulawesi have been worst hit by the drought.

In Central Java alone, around 16,400 hectares of rice fields have perished and around 82,000 tons of rice has been lost due to the current drought.

Sapuan explained that the returned rice will be distributed to crisis areas, such as Irian Jaya and provinces in Sulawesi and Kalimantan.

He also said there is nothing to worry about because the drought could be handled by increasing productivity in irrigated areas.

"All we have to do is plant rice on those irrigated areas and develop secondary crops in areas depending on rainfalls," Sapuan said.

Meanwhile, Governor of Bali Ida Bagus Oka said that, at the moment, his province has an adequate stock of rice. (yns)