Indonesia to have rice surplus of 3.48m tons

JAKARTA (JP): Despite reports to the contrary, Indonesia will enjoy a rice surplus of 3.48 million tons this year, Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah said yesterday.

Speaking at a hearing with the Forestry and Agriculture Commission of the House of Representatives, Sjarifudin said rice harvesting for the whole year of 1995 would at least reach 47.67 million tons of unhusked rice, compared with 28.76 million tons of husked rice.

"At this production level, it is forecasted that there will be enough for this year's domestic rice consumption," he said. "We may even have a surplus of 3.48 million tons of husked rice."

Sjarifudin's statement was contradictory to the projection of Chairman of the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) Beddu Amang, who hinted Monday that his agency might import more rice to strengthen its rice stocks due to the country's low production levels.

Beddu said the agency so far this year has added 668,000 tons to its rice buffer stocks to reach 1.2 million tons. However, the stock level is still below the agency's safe level of two million tons.

Official sources reported recently that Bulog's rice buffer stocks had fallen below an alarming 200,000 tons earlier this year, before the appointment of Beddu as its new chairman.

Indonesia, boasting self-sufficiency in rice since 1984, imported 900,000 tons of husked rice late last year and another 380,000 tons early this year due to a decrease in the country's rice production. Informed sources, however, put the figure of rice imports much higher -- at about 2.4 million tons.

Floods earlier last year and a severe dry season afterwards slashed the country's unhusked rice output by 3.2 percent to 46.64 million tons last year.

Increase

Sjarifudin said that if related government institutions make an effort to increase the country's rice production level, this year's unhusked rice output will likely increase by 3.3 percent to 48.18 million tons, a bit higher than the Central Bureau for Statistics prediction of 47.67 million tons.

Some of the steps needed, the minister said, include a campaign to use urea fertilizer tablets, the rehabilitation of village irrigation facilities and the land-use intensification program.

The irrigation rehabilitation program, being carried out by the Ministry of Public Works, is expected to add 150,000 hectares to the rice field areas in Java and Bali this year.

The intensification program is projected to cover 1.6 million hectares, of which 1.27 million hectares are irrigated fields and the rest tidal-watered fields.

Sjarifudin said his office, in coordination with related institutions, had also targeted non-irrigated fields for the production of rice. This year, some 101,000 hectares of non- irrigated fields in Java alone will likely contribute 354,000 tons of husked rice.

The country's total area of rice fields dropped to 15.9 million hectares in 1993, including 4.6 million hectares in Java, from 16.7 million hectares in 1983, including 5.5 million hectares in Java.

Outside Java, rice field area increased at a very slow rate, from 11.2 million hectares in 1983 to 11.3 million hectares in 1993. (rid)