Provincial Government: Rice Prices In North Sumatra Are Not High Because Of Rare Stocks

The Provincial Government (Pemprov) of North Sumatra (North Sumatra) confirmed that the high price of rice in the region did not occur because of the scarce stock.

"In fact, rice in North Sumatra is a surplus," said Head of Food Crops at the North Sumatra Food, Food Crops and Horticulture Service Muhammad Juwaini, quoted by ANTARA, Friday, October 6.

Juwaini emphasized that if there is a shortage of rice, the people of North Sumatra will definitely look in line fighting over rice in the markets and a situation could cause panic.

"Even though the rice is rising, there is no such condition," said Juwaini.

According to him, the causes of the increase in rice prices in North Sumatra are several factors such as the increase in production costs and the influence of the El Nino phenomenon.

He said the production costs had increased because the prices of fertilizers, pesticides, work wages, and others had soared.

"Regarding El Nino, which causes drought in several parts of Indonesia such as Java and eastern Indonesia, it affects the increase in grain prices in North Sumatra," said Juwaini.

He continued, from January to August 2023, North Sumatra was able to produce 2,691,107 tons of harvested dry unhulled rice (GKP) which was successfully processed to 1,714,235 tons of rice.

The needs of the people of North Sumatra during that period were 1,392,689 tons, so the province of thousands of Medan cities had a rice surplus of 321,546 tons.

The price of medium rice in North Sumatra has passed the government's retail price (HET) in recent weeks.

The National Food Agency noted, on Friday (6/10), the average price of medium rice in North Sumatra reached IDR 13,540 per kilogram or higher than HET IDR 11,500 per kilogram.

Meanwhile, premium rice costs an average of Rp. 14,650 per kilogram, larger than HET of Rp. 14,400.