Deputy Head of Bulog-Papua and West Papua Office Dedi Apriliadi, however, did not furnish further details on the quantity of Vietnamese rice that had been distributed.
Apriliadi merely stated that the rice stock, stored in the agency's warehouses to meet the needs of six provinces in Papua, currently reached some 26 thousand tons.
"The available rice stock is able to meet the communities' needs for four months," he told ANTARA in Jayapura, the capital of Papua Province, on Tuesday (June 20).
The agency's monthly rice requirement is recorded at around six thousand tons, he remarked.
Responding to the question of whether the Bulog-Papua and West Papua Office would also procure rice from local farmers in Merauke City, South Papua Province, he said the absorption of local rice remains limited.
In its place, the agency has delivered rice stock to meet the requirement in Merauke of 500 tons, he noted while adding that two thousand tons of rice had been supplied from East Java.
ANTARA reported earlier that Bulog had been assigned to import two million tons of rice to strengthen its rice reserves in facing El Nino that causes the dry season.
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) confirmed in April this year that the rice import was aimed at strengthening Bulog's reserves, as there would likely be a long dry season due to El Nino weather pattern.
"Hence, Bulog and the National Food Agency (NFA) get prepared by strengthening the rice reserves,” Jokowi stated as monitored through the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel.
Strengthening the government rice reserves, or CBP, managed by Bulog, through the import of rice, aims to anticipate competition with other countries for obtaining the commodity when El Nino occurs, he remarked.
He affirmed that the move aims to prevent difficulties in later obtaining rice from supplier countries, such as Thailand, Vietnam, India, and Pakistan.
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Translator: Evarukdijati, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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