JAKARTA - Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Andi Amran Sulaiman admits that efforts to eradicate the food mafia are not an easy task. However, he emphasized that the government will not give up in maintaining the stability of national food prices, especially rice.
"Yes, it is difficult (to face the food mafia), but you must not get tired," he said in a broadcast on the Mahfud MD Official Youtube channel, discussing the theme of the Ganyang Mafia Food, Tuesday, July 22.
Amran explained that the rice problem stems from the discrepancy between prices at the farmer and consumer levels. Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), rice prices at the farmer level have decreased, but have actually increased at the consumer level.
"This is the beginning of the rice problem. BPS data, not my data, mentions prices are falling at the farmer level, but rising at the consumer level. That's an anomaly," he said.
Amran said that national rice production is currently at its highest point in the last seven years. In fact, several international institutions have also confirmed the increase.
"Then FAO data, even higher, said this is our production, which last year was 30 million tons, now it is predicted to increase by 35 million tons. And the highest increase is number two in the world after Brazil," he explained.
The same thing was also conveyed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which predicts Indonesia's rice production to reach 34.6 million tons this year.
"Our target is 32 (2025), last year's production is 30 (million tons). This means that there is a jump of 4 million tons. There is a desire for me this data is correct and it is independent," said Amran.
Anomaly Findings At Cipinang Main Market
The Ministry of Agriculture highlighted the existence of irregularities in the distribution of rice indicated to have occurred at the Cipinang Main Market. One observer said the supply of rice in Cipinang was lacking, which strengthened the suspicion that the price spike was not caused by the lack of supply.
Amran stated that historical data for five years showed that the volume of rice coming out of Cipinang had never exceeded 3,000 tons per day. However, in the latest report, the figure of 11,000 tons is found per day, which is logistically considered unreasonable.
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"Seeing the price milled down about 2 months, 3 months ago. Then, consumer prices rose. It means anomaly. Where are I looking for this anomaly. First, there is a statement by an observer saying that the supply (rice) of Cipinang is lacking. So this justifies that the price (rice) is rising," he said.
"We checked the data starting from there, 5 years of data. There was an anomaly too I got it. Rice came out 11,000 tons one day, it was impossible. If it came out, the car, the truck piled up, no one could enter (Cipinang Main Market). A maximum of 3,000 tons for 5 years. There was an anomaly, the Task Force got down, said it," continued Amran.
The Minister of Agriculture emphasized that the government continues to investigate potential irregularities in the food supply chain, including rice distribution. He stated that he would not hesitate to take firm action if violations were found that were detrimental to farmers and the community.
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