We anticipate a five-percent production decline due to El Niño through CPP distributionJakarta (ANTARA) - National Food Agency (Bapanas) Head Arief Prasetyo Adi said the government is anticipating a potential decline in rice production by nearly five percent due to El Niño by ensuring adequate Government Food Reserves (CPP) stocks.
El Niño is a natural phenomenon that can pose weak to moderate threats, disrupting water supply and potentially leading to drought and a decline in agricultural food production activities.
"We anticipate a five-percent production decline due to El Niño through CPP distribution. We hope that the production decline will not be more than five percent. However, we are prepared to anticipate a production decline of up to seven percent," Adi noted in an official statement on Thursday.
He remarked that the CPP, which is managed by the government along with the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) food cluster, has a regulatory basis through Presidential Regulation Number 125 of 2022.
According to Adi, CPP stock is still sufficient, and his side has prepared stocks until February to April 2024 due to the upcoming election in February and Eid al-Fitr in April.
"For these two events, we have prepared rice stock since last year. If El Niño occurs, we can release our CPP as a government step in intervening in the market. This is important to maintain rice prices," he remarked.
Adi noted that today's conditions show the rising price of dry-harvested unhusked rice (GKP), which has reached Rp6,700-7,000 per kilogram, while the price of rice is highly dependent on the GKP price.
In addition, he noted that other factors that contribute to the rice price, namely fertilizer price, transportation cost, and labor cost, also experienced an adjustment. Thus, he reminded that the price of rice is difficult to match with the price last year.
“The main key is in production and towards the end of the year, the trend will decrease. Those working at the rice milling facility also need attention in the form of equipment revitalization to maintain their competitiveness," he revealed.
Adi remarked that his side, through the state-owned logistics company, Bulog, in 2023 was able to prepare CPP stocks, totaling around 1.5 million tons, that have been disbursed to the community. Meanwhile, the current available CPP stock is 1.5 million tons, with another 400 thousand tons of rice to be added.
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Translator: Kuntum Khaira R, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
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