Bulog Director Budi Waseso Asks People To Calm, Because Rice Stocks Are Still Safe Even Though The Rice Harvest Period Is Back

Bulog President Director Budi Waseso. (Mary Handayani/VOI)

JAKARTA - Perum Bulog revealed that it is estimated that the first rice harvest season in 2022 will be delayed. Therefore, it is necessary to anticipate supply so that national rice needs remain safe and prevent price spikes at the beginning of the year. Bulog also appealed to the public not to panic, because rice stocks were still in surplus.

Bulog President Director Budi Waseso (Buwas) said that the first rice harvest season is expected to be delayed from February to March-April. Budi explained that the postponement of the harvest season was influenced by the weather due to El-Nino.

"If the weather is uncertain, Bulog will still have sufficient stock. It has prepared anticipation for what might happen," he said at a press conference at the Bulog Office, Tuesday, December 28.

Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Budi said, the forecast for national rice production in the first quarter of 2022 is 11.61 million tons. Meanwhile, the average consumption for three months is around 7.8 million tons or 2.6 million tons of rice per month.

Furthermore, Budi said that the total stock of rice in Bulog's warehouse until the end of this year reached 1 million tons. Therefore, Budi appealed to the public not to worry about the rice harvest period which is estimated to be delayed.

"If it is multiplied by three, it is still a surplus. People don't have to worry about the availability of basic food, namely rice," he said.

Budi is optimistic that the demand for rice will be safe. Moreover, Budi said, Bulog already had the experience of the past two years with the COVID-19 condition being at a high level, Bulog did not lack food stocks, especially rice.

Throughout 2021, Budi said, farmers will absorb 1.2 million tons of rice. Bulog also plays an important role in maintaining rice price stability at the consumer level by carrying out market operations which are now known as KPSH (Supply Availability and Price Stabilization).

"This domestic absorption of rice is very helpful for Indonesian farmers who have difficulty selling their rice during the COVID-19 pandemic and also maintains the government's achievement of not importing rice for the last 3 years," he said.

So far, Bulog has distributed nearly 700 thousand tons of KPSH rice by involving various stakeholders.

Then, to ease the burden of spending on daily basic needs for the community due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The government through the Ministry of Social Affairs and Perum Bulog this year also succeeded in distributing PPKM Rice Aid (BB-PPKM) completely 100 percent to Beneficiary Families (KPM) for a total of 28.8 million KPM throughout Indonesia.

Then, continued Budi, in the second year of this pandemic and as a form of real commitment the company that creates shared value for the community Bulog has distributed Fortivit Rice to 7 Provinces for 2,150 Toddlers to support the government's program to reduce stunting prevalence (short children).

Budi said Bulog was also quick to respond to national disasters by distributing 8,500 tons of Emergency Response Rice throughout 2021.