Bulog Targets Absorbing 1.7 Million Tons Of Grain And Rice From Farmers' Grand Harvest

Rice Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The General Company of the Logistics Affairs Agency (Perum Bulog) targets to absorb 1.7 million tons of grain and rice harvested by farmers during the Grand Panen. This is to meet the government's rice reserves (CBP), which currently only 282,000 tons.

Bulog President Director, Budi Waseso, said he would optimize the absorption of grain and rice for farmers. He also emphasized that he could absorb 70 percent or 1.7 million tons of the CBP management target this year of 2.4 million tons.

"This means that if we continue to absorb it now, we must achieve the target of 1.7 million tons at this harvest season," he told reporters, Friday, March 17.

Buwas, Budi Waseso's nickname, said that domestic production absorption is of the interest of the state. This is because CBP is used for market operations to social assistance (bansos) for underprivileged communities.

Furthermore, Buwas said that the government's (HPP) purchase price, which was raised by the government as a benchmark for Bulog, absorbing domestic crops, was sufficient to help, to compete with private producers who bid for farmers' grain prices more expensive.

"So if Bulog absorbs the cost of being paid by the state, the important thing is that the amount of production is sufficient," he explained.

To speed up the absorption of Bulog, said Buwas, his party was assisted by the task force (Satgas) and the Indonesian National Army (TNI).

"It must be, 1.7 million tons of our target. I was assisted by the food task force, tni too, all of them helped Bulog for absorption. So I don't want to be mistaken, Bulog doesn't want to absorb it," he said.