We must order rice at the earliest so that we can ensure that our stock is adequate in the event of a shortage. This also applies to other agricultural products.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said he is preparing measures to anticipate a potential drought arising from the El Nino phenomenon in June 2023, saying rice imports could be undertaken to ensure stock availability.

At the State Palace Complex in Jakarta on Monday, he said that the government has been exerting intergovernmental (G-to-G) efforts to ensure adequate rice stocks.

He confirmed that the government may opt to import rice, saying "Yes, (we will import it) if we must."

Securing stocks of rice is necessary to fulfill national needs during the current hot weather conditions and the upcoming El Nino season, which may lead to a decline in food production activities, he said.

"With regard to rice, we must take G-to-G measures. We must order rice at the earliest so that we can ensure that our stock is adequate in the event of a shortage. This also applies to other agricultural products," the minister said.

In Malaysia, he continued, drought resulting from El Nino has led the public to frantically buy out drinking water.

"To tackle El Nino issues, we are taking notes from the events happening in Malaysia, India, and also China," Hasan said.

Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian urged regional governments to pay close attention to El Nino so that the efforts to control inflation remain undisrupted.

According to Karnavian, a number of agencies have forecast that Indonesia will experience the weather phenomenon that may cause drought and a shortage of clean water sources in several regions.

Furthermore, the Agriculture Ministry has formed a task force to take the required measures in the face of El Nino, which is projected to hit Indonesia in June and gain intensity in August.

"I have asked all regions to form task forces. We all should sit together to formulate all possible measures, starting from the stage of land mapping, institutional conceptualization, and a concrete action plan," Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo said on Monday.

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Translator: Indra Arief, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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