Bulog Director General Sidak Modern Retail Assures Safe Premium Rice Supply

JAKARTA - President Director of Perum Bulog Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani carried out a surprise inspection at one of the modern retail outlets in the Radio Dalam area, Jakarta, to ensure the availability of premium rice in maintaining price stability and food availability for the community.

"This evening I and my team deliberately carried out a raid at one of the modern retail outlets in the Radio Dalam area. We can see together that there are still many premium rice products here. And these rice are also still full, there is nothing empty," said Rizal in Jakarta, Wednesday (5/8) evening.

The review was carried out as a precautionary measure so that the public would still be able to easily obtain premium quality rice in the midst of plans to withdraw a number of fortified rice brands from circulation following the findings of the Food Task Force that did not meet the quality provisions.

During the raid, Rizal ensured that Bulog's premium rice products, the brands Punokawan and Befood Sentra Ramos, were available in sufficient quantities and met the needs of consumers who shopped.

He said that premium rice stocks on the sales shelf were still full so that the public did not need to worry about the availability and access to premium rice produced by Bulog.

Bulog also ensures that the prices of the two products remain in accordance with the highest retail price, namely Rp. 74,500 for a five-kilogram package, so that it is more affordable than other brands.

Rizal showed that the price of Bulog premium rice was around Rp20,000 apart from other brands such as Anak Raja, even the difference was more than Rp50,000 compared to the Topi Koki brand.

According to him, the price difference reflects the government's presence in providing quality food at a more affordable price so that it can ease the burden on the community.

Bulog also instructed all regional offices in various major cities to conduct simultaneous inspections to ensure that government premium rice is available at modern retail outlets and public markets.

"We are implementing this simultaneously. In Jakarta, Surabaya, Semarang, Bandung, Medan, Riau, Bali, we all ordered to check to convince the public that the government's premium rice is also present in modern retail and people's markets," said Rizal.

This step is carried out as a form of mitigation so that there is no shortage of premium rice supplies if some fortified products are withdrawn from circulation according to the results of government supervision.

Rizal said the results of monitoring in various regions showed that Bulog's premium rice stocks were still available, even though some retailers reported high public demand for the product.

Bulog assesses the high consumer interest as a positive signal that the community needs a premium rice alternative with quality at affordable prices in the midst of market dynamics.

To meet these needs, Bulog produces around 300 tons of premium rice every day nationwide, while the supply for the DKI Jakarta region reaches around 21 tons per day.

The company is also preparing further steps through discussions with the government regarding the plan to transfer a portion of the government's rice reserves (CBP) which is currently recorded at more than 5 million tons, to premium rice to strengthen national supplies.

"We will encourage it in the future in accordance with the plan to shift CBP into premium rice, with the hope that it can reduce the prices of rice that are too high. It is a pity for the community if the price of premium rice (brands outside Bulog) is up to Rp. 126,000 per 5 kilograms, it is too heavy for the community, according to us," said Rizal.

Through strengthening distribution, direct monitoring in the field, and providing premium rice at affordable prices, Bulog hopes that the public will still have access to quality food while supporting the stability of national rice prices.