The government needs to take such steps because the price of rice, especially medium quality rice, has begun showing an upward trend. Looking back to the past several years, the prices of basic commodities always increased and the stock of rice frequently declined by the year-end.
Hence, market operations are required in order to supply the people with rice and prevent rice scarcity. The Jakarta regional government, for example, will conduct rice operations, especially for medium quality rice.
President Director of Jakarta local government-owned rice firm PT Food Station Tjipinang Jaya, Arief Prasetyo Adi, said that his party was cooperating with state-owned Logistics Agency Bulog in an effort to launch market operations immediately in anticipation of a rise in the price of medium quality rice in Jakarta.
"In the near future, PT Food Station and all Pasar Induk Beras Cipinang (Cipinang Rice Wholesale Market) traders will coordinate with Bulog to immediately carry out market operations," Adi said at the Indonesian National Police`s Bareskrim (Criminal Investigation Department) Office, Jakarta, Thursday.
For market operations to distribute medium rice, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan sent a letter to the Ministry of Trade. The Ministry of Trade has also written to the Managing Director of Bulog to conduct market operations.
"We need assistance from Bulog to distribute medium quality rice because its price is starting to rise," Adi said.
Adi said that currently, the rice stock in the Cipinang Rice Market is above 50 thousand tons, which is a safe limit. The increase in the price of medium quality rice is because at the end of last year the yields were of good quality.
With good quality rice, the price of medium quality rice will be higher. The price of IR643 medium quality rice in the second week of November reached Rp9,225 per kilogram from the previous price of Rp8,700 per kilogram.
The highest retail price of medium quality rice is found in the regions of Java, Lampung, South Sumatra, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Sulawesi and Bali, which amounted to Rp 9,450 per kilogram, while the price of premium quality rice is Rp12,800 per kg.
Earlier on Monday, former agriculture minister Anton Apriyantono had urged Bulog to release its rice stock to control the price of the commodity. "It should now be time to distribute (the rice), as Bulog is free to conduct market operations throughout the year," he noted in a statement.
The government has prepared 2.4 million tons of rice for market operations across the country, as a precautionary measure against the price hike ahead of the Christmas and New Year festivities. "For the market operations, Bulog has prepared 2.4 million tons of rice," Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita noted recently.
In the meantime, Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) Bambang Soesatyo has called on the government to ensure the adequate supply of medium-quality rice in a bid to curb the commodity`s price hike.
Soesatyo noted in a statement in Jakarta on Wednesday (November 14) that the scarcity of medium quality rice and the price hike must be addressed soon by President Joko Widodo`s economic team and the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).
"The problem must be addressed very seriously," the Golkar Party politician remarked.
He noted that the hike in the price of the commodity will harm people from the lower middle class group, as some 70 percent of them consume medium quality rice.
Moreover, with the upcoming general election in 2019, the price of basic necessities will become a sensitive issue.
"When there is an increase in the price of basic necessities, especially rice, the opposition will exploit the issue to undermine the government`s credibility," he cautioned.
As part of the efforts to ensure rice supply and price stability, the government is also expected to meet its rice production target of 1.5 million tons each in November and December 2018.
Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) researcher Rusli Abdullah opined that the Indonesian Government should make sure that it achieves its rice production target at the end of the year.
The government should make an assurance of achieving its rice production target in order to prevent the food commodity price turmoil and a rise in the inflation rate.
"The rice production target for the November-December 2018 period should be achieved by the government. It should pay attention to regions that will harvest during that period to ensure the success of a harvest by controlling pest and flood mitigation," Abdullah stated at a press conference on Thursday (November 15).
The government has set a rice production target of 1.5 million tons respectively in November and December 2018. If the target is achieved, Indonesia will experience a rice surplus of 2.85 million tons, as forecast by the Central Bureau of Statistics.
However, Abdullah opined that it will be difficult for the government to achieve its rice production target, as the year-end is planting season and not a grand harvest season.
"Besides this, floods, as a result of the rainy season, will serve as one of the factors that cause harvest failure," he noted.
Reporter: ANTARA
Editor: Bustanuddin
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
