Refuse To Import Rice, PDIP: We Know Behind The Imports Of Many Rente Hunters

Rice illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - PDI-P Secretary General Hasto Kristiyanto said that his party asked Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi not to act alone in the implementation of rice imports. As an assistant to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), ministers including Lutfi should carry out their duties according to directions.

"The Minister of Trade should not act alone, he must show that he is an assistant to the president who must understand the president's food politics," said Hasto in a written statement, Sunday, March 21.

He also said that import policies were also prone to corruption. "We know that behind the import there are many rent-seekers," he said.

Furthermore, the party bearing the bull emblem has rejected plans to import rice. This is because Indonesia has a spirit of sovereignty and has so many food sources that imports are not needed.

This is also in line with the direction of the Chairperson of the PDI-P, Megawati Sukarnoputri, who carried out many movements to plant rice replacement trees.

"Since one year ago the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) on the orders of Mrs. Megawati Soekarnoputri has carried out a movement to plant trees to replace rice. There are breadfruit, there are cassava, there are tubers. Then there are porang, there are bananas, and others," he said.

"That's why our PDI-P stance firmly rejects rice imports," added Hasto.

As previously reported, the Minister of Trade Muhammad Lutfi explained that Bulog's CBP stock had fallen below its psychological level and had the potential to reach the lowest figure in history if all ex-imported 2018 rice experienced a decline in quality.

Based on the data he received, currently the CBP stock managed by Perum Bulog is around 800,000 tons. However, around 300,000 tonnes of this stock is the remaining imported rice carried out in 2018 and has the potential to experience quality degradation and cannot be released to the market.

Thus, he estimates that the CBP stock that is feasible and safe to distribute is only 500,000 tonnes, even though the safe stock agreed by the government to maintain price stability in the market is 1 million tonnes. In addition, Perum Bulog also has an obligation for market operations whose monthly demand reaches 80,000 tons or nearly 1 million tons a year.

"So Bulog's stock of approximately 800,000 tons is reduced by 2018 import stock of 300,000, Bulog's stock only, maybe not reaching 500,000 tons. This is one of the lowest stock conditions in Bulog's history," Lutfi said in a press conference, Friday, March 19.