Rice Prices Don't Drop Despite Imported Floods, Bulog Boss Reveals The Cause

Bulog rice (photo: dock. Antara)

JAKARTA - Domestic rice prices continue to show an increasing trend until the end of 2023. Even though the government has tried to reduce it by opening the import tap. In fact, this year, rice prices are also predicted to increase.

President Director of Perum BULOG Bayu Krisnamurthi said the government had issued an import assignment to Bulog of 3.5 million tons last year so that the price jump could be eased.

Of this amount, continued Bayu, 3 million tons have been executed in 2023. While the remaining 500,000 tons will enter this year. Where the rice comes from four countries namely Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and Pakistan.

Although there is already a Market Price Supply Stabilization program (SPHP) and social assistance (bansos) distributed through imported rice, Bayu admits that it has not been able to reduce rice prices.

It must be admitted that the food aid and SPHP rice have not succeeded in reducing prices. But it has succeeded in reducing inflation, but the price of rice is still relatively high. So it means that rice prices are stable but relatively high," he said at a press conference, at the Bulog Office, Jakarta, Thursday, January 11.

Conditions Still Hard For Indonesia

For 2024, Bayu predicts rice prices will still increase. Therefore, he admitted that he was pessimistic that rice prices would be turbulent. Moreover, domestic production continues to decline.

Bayu also revealed three factors that affected the increase in rice prices this year. First, said Bayu, the decline in rice production has not yet recovered.

Second, he continued, production costs are also still high, especially fertilizers. Finally, the policy of free producing countries that protect supply.

"The world market is still up and down with a fairly large number. This is indeed difficult for Indonesia," he said.

Even so, Bayu said Bulog would try to maintain rice prices by boosting the SPHP program. He said the government would launch SPHP rice for IDR 10,900 per kilogram (kg) to reduce price increases.

"We boost our SPHP and encourage it to increase. Even if we haven't been able to lower prices, the group of people who need it already has rice, we can guarantee the fluctuations. Because what is more terrible than high prices is the unclear ujlag-ujlug price," he explained.