Rice Prices Soar High, When Does It Go Down?

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA The soaring price of rice has recently caused unrest in the community.

Even so, the National Food Agency is optimistic that rice prices can be controlled soon.

Then when can the price of rice go down?

Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi said that there was an imbalance between production and rice consumption in January and February. This is because rice productivity has decreased due to the harvest season which has been delayed due to the impact of the El Nino phenomenon.

In addition, Arief said that the still high price of unhulled rice is also one of the causes of the high price of rice in the market today.

"So that today the price of rice is high, it is because the price of grain is still high. But the positive side is that our farmers today are happy and we hope that they are more enthusiastic about planting rice," he said in an official statement, Thursday, February 15.

However, Arief said he was optimistic that the price of rice could be controlled if rice production was abundant at 3.5 million tons or more in March.

"If it's for stock availability, we make sure it's enough. Of course, the government's job is to balance between upstream and downstream. Later when our rice production is at 3.5 million tons or exceeds that in March, the price of rice can be better," he said.

Even so, Arief said that the price of rice would be difficult to position two years ago. Because, there are factors that influence it. One of them is the rising fertilizer price.

"However, the price of rice now is a bit difficult to match like 2 years ago. This is because costs such as fertilizers, land leases, working days, and so on have increased," said Arief.

Grain Price At Capai Manufacturer IDR 8,000 Per Kg

Previously it was reported, the President Director of Perum Bulog Bayu Krisnamurthi opened up the causes of rice prices in the skyrocketing traditional market. He said, one of the reasons was because the price of unhulled rice was already high.

Bayu also detailed the price of unhulled farmers and rice prices at the production center recorded by Bulog as of February 12. For example, he said, in Indramayu the price of unhulled rice was Rp. 7,350 pergi and the price of premium rice was Rp. 15,475 per kg.

Then, in Karawang the price of unhulled rice is Rp. 7,150 per kg and the price of premium rice is Rp. 14,333 per kg.

Meanwhile, in Banyumas the price of unhulled rice is Rp. 8,300 per and premium rice is Rp. 15,000 per kg.

Furthermore, in Sragen the price of unhulled rice was recorded at Rp. 8,100 per kg and the price of premium rice was Rp. 14,200 per kg.

Bayu said the price increase in the country was due to the increasing price of grain. In fact, the price of unhulled rice at the producer level has reached Rp. 8,000 per kg.

"So the data confirms that the amount of grain producers is already Rp. 8,000, in the production center area, the rice is already Rp. 15,000. This happens in all production centers. If the price is below, it may be wet, this is the standard price," he said at the Perum Bulog office, Jakarta, Tuesday, February 13.