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tate-owned logistics agency Bulog plans to purchase 4 million tons of rice mostly from the domestic market to meet a stockpile target of 5.5 million tons.

Bulog head Sutarto Alimoeso said in Jakarta on Thursday that the logistics agency expected to distribute 3.5 million tons of rice in next year’s market operations, which aim to quell price inflation while maintaining at least 1.5 million tons of buffer stock.

Currently, around 1 million tons of rice are available in Bulog’s reserve warehouses and the logistics agency also plans to finalize the import of 300,000 tons of rice from Thailand next February.

“With that, we need around 4 million tons of additional rice,” Sutarto said.

Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said that the government would still be importing rice as a preventive measure to maintain the country’s rice reserves and food security.

“We will only use the rice reserve if we experience disruptions during our harvesting season,” Hatta said.

Indonesia’s population of 240 million needs 139 kilograms of rice per capita, making it the world’s third largest rice consumer.

The country was self-sufficient in 2008 and 2009, however, it started to import rice to maintain its reserves in 2010 after a failure to meet harvest targets and stockpiles.

Shrinking farmland areas and lower productivity have been regarded as the main factors for the country’s dependence on imports to maintain food stock reserves.

The National Economic Committee (KEN), an economic think tank, in its latest report recommended that the government reform agriculture by opening up new farming areas, increasing productivity and intensifying plantations.

The measures are needed for the government to maintain food prices in 2012 during these uncertain times in the global economy.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in August that Indonesia hoped to achieve a rice surplus of 10 million tons in the next five to 10 years and therefore, he had made food security one of his priorities in the state budget for the year 2012.

In the planned 2012 state budget, the government has allocated Rp 41.9 trillion out of Rp 1,418.5 trillion for food security.

Consumers are also worried about the possibility of rising food prices as an effect of Christmas and the New Year celebrations, during which demand for staples usually increases while commodities, conversely, are scarce.

Hatta, however, claimed that the government had managed to secure enough rice to meet demands for the year end holiday season and had been keeping food prices in check.

“We have 1.7 million tons of rice in stock until the end of the year. This is more than enough,” Hatta said.

Hatta also dismissed media reports saying there were rice scarcities in Maluku and Papua.

“There is no scarcity in Indonesia. What is happening is a problem of transportation,” he said.