"Even though the demand for rice is expected to increase during Ramadhan and Idul Fitri 1433 Hijriah, we guarantee that the country`s rice stocks are adequate," he said here on Wednesday.
Indonesia has enough rice supply to meet its domestic demand until the end of this year, thanks to the 4.3 percent increase in production this year.
By the end of this year, rice production is expected to reach a surplus of 5 million tonnes.
"Despite the increase in average price of rice by 0.47 percent in Indonesia, we guarantee that the stocks are safe," Sutarto said.
The current rice stocks will be enough for the next three months because of the production surplus of 5 million tonnes. Bulog has set itself a target of increasing the surplus to 10 million tonnes in order to meet domestic demand for the next six months.
Sutarto stated that Indonesia did not need to import rice for domestic consumption for the time being.
However, Indonesia`s rice production of 2.48 million tonnes this year is much less in comparison with the 3.6 million tonnes produced during the same period in 2009.
East Java province accounted for 33 percent of the total national production, followed by Central Java (27 percent), West Java (17 percent), South Sulawesi (14 percent), and West Nusa Tenggara (5 percent).
Sutarto said rice production was expected to reach 3 million tonnes by December 2012.
Bulog`s responsibility as a price stabilizer is really significant, both in case of rice and other basic commodities, he added.
Political and financial support is also necessary to restore the authority of Bulog, Sutarto pointed out.
(f001/INE/S012)
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
