Govt to Import 200,000 Tons of Rice: Bapanas
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6 December 2022 22:03 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government has decided to import 200,000 tons of commercial rice, head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi stated. The import, he explained, was carried out after considering the low reserves of the commodity in anticipation of an emergency.
“The food reserves must be available and not distributed freely. It’s only used for several government activities,” said Arief after the Plenary Cabinet Session at the State Palace, Jakarta, in his statement on Monday, December 6, 2022.
According to him, the stock of imported rice is only used in certain conditions such as disaster mitigation, price intervention if needed, and several other government activities.
Thus, he emphasized that the use of imported rice will be closely monitored to prevent it from entering the market. However, Arief stopped short of mentioning where the imported commodity came from.
He also ensured that imported rice will not interfere with farmers' rice. The government will continue to side with local farmers. Bapanas will consistently monitor and maintain the price of local grain and rice at the farmers’ level so that it remains reasonable.
The imported rice will be in stock at the end of this year while waiting for the main harvest period from February to March 2023.
RIANI SANUSI PUTRI
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