Ombudsman Asks Government To Review Rice Import Policy

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - RI Ombudsman member Yeka Hendra Fatika asked the government to review the rice import policy and start formulating a long-term import strategy for five years.

During an inspection at Bulog Kelapa Gading Warehouse, Jakarta, Friday, March 15, Yeka said that based on historical records, Indonesia always imports rice, although there are several years where imports are not carried out.

He explained that the data shows that Indonesia imports an average of 1.5 million tons of rice per year, so an import strategy should be carried out for the next five years.

"So that there will be no more impromptu lobbying which eventually causes rice prices to rise. Thus, Bulog has five years of stock, but there are also those from abroad. It is just a matter of arrival so as not to flood the market," he said, quoted from Antara.

Yeka also suggested that the government should no longer use self-sufficiency jargon or not import rice at all.

According to him, the 100 percent self-sufficiency jargon needs to be lowered to 80 percent or 90 percent. This needs to be done to reduce rice political tension.

"It's better just say self-sufficiency in rice 80 percent so that the rest can take imports. Because of the fact we import," he said.

Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Indonesia always imports rice from 2014 to 2023. The Indonesian government decided to import 844 thousand tons of rice in 2014, and 861 thousand tons in 2015.

Rice imports jumped significantly to 2.25 million tonnes in 2018, compared to 305 thousand tonnes in 2017.

Indonesia also imports 3.06 million tons of rice in 2023. This figure is the highest record in the last five years, and an increase of about 600 percent compared to 2022.