S

tate logistics agency Bulog says it will continue importing rice until the end of the year to maintain supplies during the dry season — a move meant to ease the pressure on rice prices.

Bulog president director Sutarto Alimoeso said on Wednesday that the agency would receive 200,000 tons of rice from Vietnam in September and that 300,000 tons of rice would be ready for delivery from Thailand in October.

“[Rice imports] will continue until this December,” he told reporters after a food security meeting at the Office of Coordinating Economic Minister.

Bulog was “assessing” less expensive rice imports from Pakistan and India to minimize dependence on Vietnam and Thailand, he said. “We have got to seek the best quality for the best price.” Indonesia planned to import 800,000 tons of rice this year, including 500,000 tons from Vietnam and 300,000 tons from Thailand, to maintain a 1.5-million ton stock for market operations to stabilize prices, Sutarto said, adding that rice supplies would be enough for the next four to five months.

Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said the government was committed providing funds to increase the minimum rice stockpile to 2 million tons by 2012 or 2013.

Central Statistics Agency (BPS) chairman Rusman Heriawan said sufficient supplies influenced the public’s confidence in price stability and urged Bulog and the government to complete rice imports by December before the start of the harvest season in early 2012.

Meanwhile, the decision to import rice may prevent potential price surges during the dry season, which lasts more than six months.

“We do not expect rice prices to drop drastically, but it’s an achievement if rice prices do not continue to increase. The dry season is very long. From January to February, there will be an upward trend in rice prices,” Rusman said.

“Therefore, the effort [to import] is targeted at keeping rice prices steady.”

Rice was the third biggest contributor to inflation in August, adding 0.09 percent to total inflation of 0.93 percent during the month.

Indonesians’ annual rice consumption tops 139 kilograms per capita.

Correction

In the article “Zurich wants to triple market share, become No. 6 in RI”, published on page 14 on Sept. 7, 2011, we mistakenly wrote Rp 407 billion of premium income in 2010 and Rp 450 billion as estimated life insurance premium income, which should have been general insurance premium income. We apologize for the mistake