TEMPO.CO, Pamekasan - Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has straightened out statements issued by several Indonesian figures that the government still imported food, such as corn and rice.

“We have begun export, but reports still say import,” said the minister in Pamekasan, Madura, East Java, Tuesday, February 19.

During the second election debate last Sunday, Jokowi revealed the government’s achievement that suppressed the corn import for the past four years. According to the incumbent candidate, the import decreased from 3.5 million tons in 2014 to 180,000 tons in 2018.

Meanwhile, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded the data of corn import throughout 2018 amounted to 737,000 tons. However, BPS did not detail the kind of imported corn.

Amran stressed the saying that Indonesia still imported corn was wrong because the government had run many exports.

Years ago, Amran admitted, Indonesia still lacked corn for animal feed, but the figure gradually declined. He mentioned that the corn import for animal feeds reached 180,000 tons in 2018, dropped by 3,000 tons from the previous year.

However, the corn import for animal feed had been halted as the country’s farmers could fulfill the need. “Including corn farmers here in Madura,” said Agriculture Minister Andi Amran.

In early 2019, the government exported 380,000 tons to the Philippines and other countries, and hopefully, by the end of 2019, it could reach 500,000 tons or more.

ANTARA