TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Food Agency (Bapanas) increased the Government Purchase Price (HPP) for grain and rice at the farmers' and mill levels.

The HPP is regulated in the agency’s regulation (Perbadan) No. 6 of 2023 concerning the government purchasing prices and price deduction of grain and rice.

Bapanas head Arief Prasetyo Adi said that through the regulation, the government raised the price floor for purchasing unhulled rice/rice from farmers by State Logistics Agency (Bulog) in order to increase farmers' income.

"This latest HPP sees a price increase of 18 to 20 percent compared to the previous HPP based on Permendag No. 24 of 2020," said Arief in a press statement on Friday, March 31, 2023.

Arief explained that the price of dried unhulled rice (GKP) at the farmer level was previously Rp 4,200 per kilogram and now it is Rp 5,000 per kilogram. At the mill’s level, the GKP price was previously Rp 4,250/kg and jumped to Rp 5,100/kg.

Meanwhile, the current price of dried husked rice (GKG) at the mill is Rp 6,200/kg from Rp 5,250/kg and the GKG price in Bulog’s warehouse is now Rp 6,300/kg from Rp 5,300/kg. In addition, the rice price in Bulog’s warehouse increased from Rp 8,300/kg to Rp 9,950/kg.

“The increase and the latest HPP for Grain/Rice are as ordered by the President so that the public, especially farmers and rice business actors, can obtain certainty and immediately prepare for these price changes,” Arief said.

According to Bapanas, the increase in the HPP for grain and rice was in accordance with the calculations of the farming costs (SOUT) and the price balance at the farmer, miller, trader, and consumer levels.

Arief said that the HPP increase was part of the government's efforts to protect the basic price of grain/rice at the farm level amid the ongoing great harvest.

The Bapanas head further stated that the agency continued to encourage Bulog to increase grain/rice absorption. “To fill the stocks of government rice reserves to reach the absorption target of 2.4 million tons in 2023,” Arief concluded.

ADE RIDWAN YANDWIPUTRA

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