Govt won't import rice despite drought forecast

JAKARTA (JP): National Logistics Agency (Bulog) chief Beddu Amang said yesterday Indonesia is unlikely to import rice this year despite forecasts of severe drought in many parts of the country.

Speaking to members of the House of Representatives' commission VII on food and finance, Beddu said Bulog was ready to supply the market with 650,000 to one million tons of rice in case of sharp price hikes.

"Although rice production is expected to decline 0.92 percent from 51.1 million tons last year, rice procurement this year has so far been successful, increasing stocks to a sound level," he said.

It was therefore unlikely that Indonesia would have to import rice this year, he said.

He said Bulog's rice procurement from farmers had so far reached 1.85 million tons, about 60 percent higher than that achieved in the same period last year.

"The first dry season harvest this year has been quite favorable. It is a sign that Bulog can continue procurements, although perhaps at a slower rate," he said.

Beddu said domestic procurements this year were expected to reach about two million tons.

Bulog, set up in 1967, is in charge of controlling the distribution and price levels of several important food commodities through market operations and buffer stocking activities.

The government designates the agency as the sole authority for the importation and distribution of rice and other agricultural products.

Beddu said the agency's rice stocks currently stand at 3.2 million tons. The stocks, spread throughout the country, are enough for six months supply.

"This level is the highest we have had in the last 12 years. This will make our job of controlling rice prices much easier," he said.

Beddu said in some parts of the country, rice prices had started increasing in the past few weeks.

He said the increase was "normal" and always happened during the transition period between the big harvest season and the upcoming dry harvest season which was usually smaller in scale.

Beddu said he had ordered the agency's provincial offices to carry out market operations as soon as rice prices exceed the normal level.

"Prices that increase about 1 percent a month can still be considered normal," he said.

Media reports have lately carried news on severe droughts in Sumatra, Java and Kalimantan.

Beddu said the most severely affected areas on Sumatra island were Aceh and South Sumatra. In South Sumatra, the drought also reduced rivers' water levels, the main mode of transport.

In Java, severe drought hit the major rice producing regencies of Indramayu, Subang, Karawang, Purwakarta, Bandung and Bekasi in West Java.

The water in several dams in Central Java declined to levels below normal.

In Kalimantan, the drought affected the transportation system which relies heavily on rivers. Lower water levels made it difficult for boats to reach the island's remote areas, particularly those located upstream.

Drought has so far not affected the eastern islands of Sulawesi, Maluku, Irian Jaya, Bali, Nusa Tenggara and East Timor, which occasionally received showers of rain. (pwn)