Rice market operation in city to be continued amid objections
Rice market operation in city to be continued amid objections
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta chapter of the Logistics Agency will
continue to deliver rice in city markets in an effort to prevent
another price speculation as in July.
The chief of the agencies local chapter, Arifin Hidayat, told
newsmen on Tuesday that the operation will go on despite strong
objections voiced by many sellers in some wholesale markets.
Until now, the agency's operation has supplied over 9,000 tons
of rice in Jakarta to stabilize the rice price. The long drought
has been blamed for the price increase.
In July Governor Surjadi Soedirdja issued an order to the
agency to take necessary measures to halt the escalating prices
of staple foods, especially rice, in the city markets.
The director general of food crops and horticulture of the
Ministry of Agriculture, Amrin Kahar, told a press conference
Tuesday that the current drought had caused the failure of
111,000 hectares, out of the total area of 441,000 hectares of
rice fields affected by the drought.
Amrin said that this year's production will likely decrease to
46.2 million tons of unhusked rice from 48.1 million tons last
year.
However, Antara news agency reported that a wholesale market
seller at Cipinang complained that the agency's market operation
has made rice sales sluggish.
The sellers said that the agency had oversupplied the market
with rice and this compelled many sellers to pile up their unsold
rice.
The market operation has managed to decrease the rice price in
Jakarta, with the decrease from Rp 685 (32 U.S. cents) to Rp 675
per kilo gram in July, and from Rp 675 to Rp 665 per kilo gram
this month.
The agency's problems seem to be more serious as Arifin found
out that the rice types it delivered does not sell well here due
to its smell.
"Even a modest food stall would not use the agency's rice," he
said.
He admitted that the agency's rice has a different aroma but
it is still good quality.
Arifin refused to say when the market operation will end in
Jakarta but he said that rice prices here have been stabilized.
"Rice supplies from the producing provinces are coming and
there is no farmer who is brave enough to pile up their stock to
speculate on the price," he said. (03)