President Jokowi Calls for Stable Rice Price at Farmer Level

Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi delivers a press statement at the Presidential Palace compound, Jakarta, Thursday (01/18). (Photo by: PR of Cabinet Secretariat/Agung)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Thursday (01/18) called on the Cabinet to maintain rice price at the farmer level prior to the harvest season.

In his statement after joining a limited meeting on the national rice stock and the Government rice reserves (CBP), Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi told the press that President Jokowi and related ministers will ensure sufficient rice stock until peak season, preparation ahead of harvest season, and maintained rice price at the farmer level.

He went on to say that El Nino resulted in deficit in the national rice supply of Rp2.8 million ton; hence the Government will implement rice import program during January and February 2024 or before the great harvest.

“Last year, President Jokowi in an internal meeting had approved program to import 2 million tons of rice with condition that good price is able to be maintained at the farmer level. We expect to create the balance. There’s also one condition, namely the imported rice must be available [in the country] before the great harvest,” he said.

According to Arief, the Bapanas always strives to maintain price of rice at the farmer level, adding that the rice import program will ensure sufficient stock of our CBP.

“The country’s rice demand for a month reaches 2.5 to 2.6 tons. As the impact of El Nino, we’ll experience short of rice stock about 2.8 [million tons] in January and February. To that end, we will cover the shortage by carrying out rice importing,” he added.

In the meantime, Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan said that the Government will also ensure the stock and price stability of other commodities, particularly ahead of the holy fasting month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.

“We have started the discussion on [food] availability though Eid al-Fitr is still months away. That’s what the President does: making preparations in advance. Therefore, [food stock] in Eid al-Fitr and Christmas last year are under control because we made the preparation in advance,” he said.

The Ministry also said he pays more attention to the supply of rice, corn, chicken, and eggs as the most anticipated commodities and there is no issue in ensuring the stock of beef.

“As the impact of El Nino, the [availability] of rice and corn became our focus. It is because corn is used to feed poultry that will also affect the prices of chicken and egg,” he said. (TGH/UN) (RAS/EP)