Rice below floor prices in most areas

Rice below floor prices in most areas

JAKARTA (JP): About two-thirds of the rice produced in the
country's main production areas was sold in March for less than
the Rp 1,020 per kilogram floor price set by the government,
according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS).

BPS attributed the drop in the price of unhusked rice to good
harvests in a major rice producing areas, the small volume of
unhusked rice being purchased by the government, the ample
domestic rice stock and an influx of imported rice.

The government currently sets the floor price for unhusked
rice at between Rp 1,020 per kilogram and Rp 1,450 per kilogram.

The market price of unhusked rice in March in the provinces of
Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, Central Sulawesi, South East
Sulawesi and South Sulawesi ranged between 10 percent and 14.5
percent below the floor prices, according to the BPS.

In Sumatra, the market price of unhusked rice ranged between 8
percent below the floor price and 3.7 percent above the floor
price.

While in Kalimantan, and the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara,
North Sulawesi, Maluku and Irian Jaya, unhusked rice prices were
between 11.7 percent below and 7.5 percent above the floor
prices.

Rice farmers in West Nusa Tenggara took a hit as the price of
the lowest quality unhusked rice in the province fell below Rp
640 per kilogram, according to BPS.

The bureau said the declining market price of unhusked rice
was related to ample rice stocks.

The average price of milled rice also declined in March from
the previous month.

The market price of rice declined between 4 percent and 17
percent in four major cities in East Java: Surabaya, Malang,
Kediri and Jember.

In Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, the market price of rice
increased by less than 1 percent, while in other main cities in
Kalimantan, the market price of rice declined up to 6 percent.
While in Ambon, prices were relatively stable.

The National Logistics Agency postponed the shipment of
175,000 tons of rice from foreign traders from earlier this year
to July in a bid to shore up rice prices on the domestic market.

Farmers's associations said that with the current price
levels, earnings from the sale of rice was only enough to cover
production costs. (udi)