Irian has enough food stock despite crisis, official says
Irian has enough food stock despite crisis, official says
JAKARTA (JP): Irian Jaya, where almost 700 people died of
starvation and drought-induced disease last year, has sufficient
stocks of rice and other staple foods, despite country's economic
and food crises, an official has claimed.
Abulebu, who is in charge of distribution at the provincial
office of the State Logistics Agency (Dolog), was quoted by
Antara as saying in the Irian Jaya capital of Jayapura on
Thursday that rice stocks in all regencies were standing at
55,000 metric tons. Some of rice was imported and some was
donated by Japan.
The logistics agency has a further 17,000 metric tons of rice
produced by local farmers in Merauke regency.
The rice and existing stocks of yams are expected to last the
province's 2 million inhabitants for the next eight months.
Abulebu said this meant Irian Jaya was not among areas of the
country facing a food crisis.
He said Irian has a stockpile of 18,000 metric tons of sugar,
enough to last three months, and wheat flour stocks of 15,000
metric tons, enough for two months.
Abulebu said the price of homegrown rice was Rp 2,000 per
kilogram and the price of imported rice was Rp 2,500 (US$0.25)
per kg.
A kilogram of standard quality rice can fetch up to Rp 4,000
in other parts of the country at present.
Last year, the El Nino weather phenomenon caused severe
drought in many parts of Indonesia, including Irian Jaya where
starvation and disease killed 700 people.
The country is now facing the worst economic crisis in its
history. The number of people living in poverty has soared and
theft and looting is rampant in certain parts of the country.
Reports also abound of food shortages in areas including East
Nusa Tenggara, East Kalimantan and West Java.
However, the government has insisted that nationwide rice
stocks are sufficient to last the country's 202 million people
for the next eight months. Public stocks currently total seven
million tons and an additional 2.2 million tons are held by the
State Logistics Agency.
From Banda Aceh, Antara reported the supply of rice in Aceh
had thinned over the past week.
The province produces an average of 1.3 metric tons of rice
per annum while consumer demand runs at only 580,000 tons.
However there is evidence that rice produced in the province is
being transported to other areas of the country.
Meanwhile, members of House of Representatives Commission VII
said they had detected a disparity in rice production and
consumption in East Java which had forced the local logistics
agency to import one million metric tons of rice.
Legislator Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, who delivered a report on
the commission's trip to East Java last month in a plenary House
session on Thursday, said forecast rice production was 4.9
million tons per annum while consumption in the province, which
has a population of 34 million, was expected to be 3.5 million
tons.
"That means East Java should have a 1.4 million ton surplus,"
he said as quoted by Antara. "In reality, though, the logistics
agency has had to import one million tons of rice to meet demand
and conduct market operations for the poor."
Lukman said the logistics agency had only been able to
purchase 9 percent of its target of 700,000 tons because it was
offering a price below current market rates, adding that this may
have contributed to the provincial shortfall.
Other explanatory factors are declining purchasing power and
recent calls from Moslem leaders for the community to hold back
between 25 percent and 40 percent of the harvest to anticipate
difficult times ahead. (swe)