Head of the Task Force, Brigadier General Whisnu Hermawan, stated here on Monday that the supervision is also an effort to maintain price stability.
"The Polri Food Task Force continues to monitor and supervise the availability and distribution of rice," Hermawan remarked.
He explained that at the upstream level, the task force ensures rice farmers face no obstacles in harvesting their rice fields.
"We monitor at the upstream level to prevent barriers that block distribution paths to the consumers," he revealed.
Other preventive steps include routine supervision at rice warehouses by involving personnel from ministries and agencies and provincial offices in the regions.
"This is to ensure that there is no hoarding of rice or other actions," he remarked.
He said that supervision by the task force is also a response to the increase in rice prices triggered by weather dynamics that led to hiked production costs and limited fertile land and water.
Several rice production centers also experienced a decline in production.
Hermawan emphasized that the government has made efforts to stabilize the price and availability of rice in the market and ensure sufficient supply until now.
"In this case, the Food Task Force ensures that the stock or availability of rice is still sufficient to meet the needs of the community," he remarked.
Earlier, the Indonesian Retail Entrepreneurs Association (Arprindo) complained of difficulties in obtaining local premium rice packaged in five kilograms due to the high price of rice at the producer level due to which several retailers chose not to take them.
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Translator: Laily R, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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