TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Djarot Kusumayakti, president director of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), said on Sunday, November 29, 2015 that his institution had imported 227 tons of Vietnamese rice since November 7, 2015.
Earlier, the state logistics company gained a license to import 1 million tons of medium-quality rice from Vietnam to anticipate famine that was predicted to occur in early 2016.
Djarot revealed that the rice was distributed in several regions based on their demands.
“In total, there are 16 ports handling the arrival of the rice,” Djarot said.
However, the distribution was hampered by infrastructure limitations and capacities at the ports. For instance, rice that arrived in Tanjung Perak, Surabaya, was unable to be distributed to East Nusa Tenggara since the port in the province could only accommodate small vessels.
According to Djarot, such a condition would not occur if the decision to import rice was made earlier. Therefore, Bulog would have more time to plan the distribution.
Djarot revealed that the rice imports had increased Bulog’s stock to 1.3 million tons. However, the government was still concern with crop failures caused by this year’s El Nino. Djarot added that the government had considered importing more rice from other countries.
“Rice imports from Pakistan have been considered, but no agreement has been reached yet,” Djarot explained.
PINGIT ARIA