Badanas Ensures Rice Stock For Christmas And New Year Is Safe

Head of the National Food Agency Arief Prasetyo Adi (photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The National Food Agency (Bapanas) has ensured that the national rice stock for the 2024 Christmas and New Year 2025 (Nataru) holidays is in a safe condition. Currently, the government's rice reserves (CBP) in Bulog's warehouse reach 2 million tons.

This was conveyed by the Head of the National Food Agency Arief Prasetyo Adi in a coordination meeting on price security and supply for Nataru with Ministries/Institutions related to food, at the Bapanas Office, Jakarta, Thursday, December 5.

Arief said that the CBP in Bulog's warehouse reached 2 million tons. Meanwhile, rice circulating in the community reaches 8 million tons. Seeing this condition, Arief said the government is ready to face the 2024 Christmas and 2025 New Year (Nataru) holiday periods.

"Usually Bulog in November, December 800,000 tons, (with current conditions) the government is ready to face December, January, February (2025)," he said, quoted from the National Food Agency's YouTube, Thursday, December 5.

Arief also said that to deal with the beginning of the year which is predicted to experience a decline in rice production, the government agreed to continue rice food assistance.

Furthermore, Arief said the assistance provided was in the form of 10 kilograms (kg) of rice and targeted as many as 16 million beneficiary families (KPM).

"God willing, the permission of the Coordinating Minister (Pangan), the President, and the Minister of Finance will be continued (rice food assistance) in January, February," he explained.

Meanwhile, General Chairperson of the Rice and Rice Milling Entrepreneurs Association (Perpadi) Surarto Alimoeso also revealed rice stocks facing Christmas and New Year. He said the rice stock in the mill was also in a safe condition.

Moreover, continued Surarto, several regions in Indonesia are still experiencing harvest. Therefore, he believes there will be no turmoil at the end of the year.

Until December the end of the year, the situation can definitely be said to be safe. It will not happen according to our estimates that there will be no turmoil. Usually it goes up early in the month. This doesn't seem to have much fluctuation at the end of December," said Suranto.