Rice Imports Keep Running When Panen Raya, Bulog Boss: Focused On Areas That Are Not Production Centers

President Director of Perum Bulog Bayu Krisnamurthi. (Photo: Mery Handayani/VOI)

JAKARTA - Perum Bulog continues to procure imports even though the domestic harvest is currently underway. It is noted that the realization of Bulog imported rice itself has reached 1.3 million tons.

Then, why does Bulog continue to procure rice through imports?

President Director of Perum Bulog Bayu Krisnamurthi said imported rice that had entered Indonesia reached 1.3 million tons. This figure is a realization of the total import quota owned by Bulog of 3.6 million tons.

"Currently we are walking (imports)," he said when met by reporters at the Pela Mampang Village Office, South Jakarta, Friday, May 3.

Bayu explained that the imported rice that entered Indonesia would be distributed to areas that were not production centers.

"We manage the entry of imported rice, we are paying attention to areas that are non-production centers, ports that are far from the production center, we are focusing on that," he said.

Meanwhile, the production center area, said Bayu, could be stopped at any time. However, the termination will see price conditions in the area.

"As for some areas that are really production centers and we see if the symptoms of prices are affected by imports, we can stop them at any time," he explained.

Bayu also explained that the procurement of imports was not just the entry of rice from abroad, but as an effort by Bulog to maintain communication with exporting countries to maintain stock.

"The most important thing about imported activities is that it's not just entry, but communication with them, ordering goods we can make a contract now but to enter July and August can happen," he said.

Even so, Bayu considered that Perum Bulog needed to have a government rice reserve (CBP) stock.

These reserves are used to intervene in prices and supplies in the market, when prices are high and the stock is running low.

"But the point is that we have to have sufficient stock. Because later in the second semester the harvest is not as good as we imagined, even though for example the government wants to continue the food assistance program, Bulog must have the stock," he said.