R

ice smuggled into the country from Vietnam and Thailand has flooded markets in Batam, Riau Islands province, with custom officials now in the spotlight for allegedly not carrying out maximum supervision.

Batam Industrial and Trade Office head Ahmad Hijazi said the smuggled rice had sparked a price war between smuggled and local produce.

“In terms of prices, consumers may benefit from the situation but it shows a lack of supervision on behalf of the authorities,” he said.

Since the end of foreign rice imports to Batam in 2004, the island has become completely dependant on supplies from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) and rice distributors at the Cipinang wholesale rice market in Jakarta.

Batam needs 12,000 tons of rice a month to feed its 1.2 million people.

The rice was smuggled into Batam by marking sacks of counterfeit rice with local brands while still at sea. The foreign-flagged ship then transferred the rice to another boat, which sailed the rice into Batam.

Batam Customs and Excise Office operational head Heru Setioko told The Jakarta Post his office had followed up on the finding made by the quarantine agency at the Agriculture Ministry.

The customs office, he said, had discovered smuggled rice disguised in local rice sacks at a number of traditional markets.

He said that 40 patrol boats were involved in the sea surveillance, two of which under the command of the customs office.

“We found rice being smuggled on a few patrols. The rice likely enters through illegally docked vessels in Batam,” he said.

Ahmad said the government should regulate rice supplies at border areas, like Batam, to prevent rice smuggling.

The current price of medium-quality rice ranges from Rp 6,500 to Rp 7,000 per kilogram, while the imported rice is 30 to 40 percent cheaper.

Hariyanto, operational manager of basic commodity distributor PT Srijaya Raya Perkasa, said that, since the rice began arriving in Batam a few weeks ago, local rice sales had suffered.

He said his company previously sold 150 tons of rice a month, but sales had dropped to around 100 tons per month.

“We also sold rice imported from Thailand and Vietnam before the import ban. It was about 40 percent cheaper than local rice,” he said.

Batam Free Trade Zone business association vice head, Fitrah Kamaruddin, blamed poor supervision by the customs office for the widespread trade of imported rice.

The custom office, he said, should take action as the rice was unloaded in Tanjung Balai Karimun waters, where the country’s biggest customs and excise sea patrol headquarters are found.

“The crimes are happening right in front of our eyes, meaning supervision has been ineffective. We will coordinate with the authorities to put an end to the matter,” said Fitrah.