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)