Badan Pangan Bantah Stock Beras Nasional Kurang Kurang Kurang Kurang Kurang Kurang

Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi. (Photo: Doc. Badanas)

JAKARTA - Head of the National Food Agency (NFA) Arief Prasetyo Adi denied that the national rice stock was experiencing a shortage at this time.

He said the rice stock was in sufficient condition.

This was conveyed after Arief directly inspected the Cipinang Rice Main Market (PIBC), Jakarta. Arief was also accompanied by the Metro Jaya Police Food Task Force (PMJ Food Task Force), Bulog Corporation, and the Rice and Rice Milling Entrepreneurs Association (Perpadi).

"Today the National Food Agency together with friends from the Metro Jaya Police Food Task Force, PIBC friends, Perpadi, Bulog directors, are all in the Cipinang Rice Main Market. We want to check for ourselves that the rice stock condition is safe," he said in an official statement, Wednesday, February 28.

"So if today there is news that says the rice stock is lacking, we want to convey once again the rice stock is sufficient," continued Arief.

Arief said that his visit to the Cipinang Rice Main Market was a directive from President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to ensure sufficient rice supply in the market.

Furthermore, Arief said that Stock in PIBC is a combination, including from Bulog, to block it before harvest in March. Arief is optimistic that the harvest will produce 3.5 million tons. Along with entering this harvest season, the price of unhulled rice will gradually fall.

For example, said Arief, from the previous figure of Rp8,600 to Rp8,700 per kilogram (kg) it will decrease to Rp8,000 per kg. In fact, it still has the potential to fall again around Rp6,500 per kg.

"In the fasting month, it will be corrected, so the opposite is true, later what must be maintained is the price of the farmer level. Now, the government's first task is to maintain the price of rice downstream for our society which is more than 270 million. Then we must also maintain prices at the producer level," he said.

With this condition, Arief asked not to let there be an issue that the government does not care about farmers' grain.

He emphasized that the price of unhulled rice would indeed fall along with the harvest season.

"It's not like that. The price of the unhulled rice will definitely fall as the harvest goes on, so the language is not a drop in price," said Arief.

Arief admitted that he received directions from Jokowi to realize a good balance and price that was reasonable, starting from upstream to downstream. For this reason, he said, the National Food Agency is committed when the rice harvest is escalated, both upstream and downstream prices can be corrected again to a good and reasonable balance.

The figure upstream is after HPP (Proportion Cost) and there must be a margin. While downstream, there needs to be a combination and this must be balanced. I repeat once again, if later there is an issue that the price is falling due to harvest, but the figure must still be above the HPP plus margin owned by farmers. This must be maintained," he explained.

Arief explained that the price of unhulled rice rose, one of which was due to supply and demand. When the rice equivalent production is below 2.5 million tons in the month, this will cause a fight over unhulled rice at the farmer level.

Then because of production factors, the trigger is a combination of all and this is not only happening in Indonesia. For this reason, the National Food Agency, of course, together with all relevant stakeholders today, prioritizes stock level that must be maintained in Bulog," said Arief.