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Comments on other issues: Jokowi launches rice market operation
Oct
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strong>Oct. 3, p4
President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo kicked off on Friday a simultaneous premium rice market operation nationwide as worsening drought, triggered by El Niño, has affected rice production in several regions.
Under the market operation, the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) is expected to distribute 300,000 tons of premium rice nationwide.
During Friday's launch of the operation at the Bulog warehouse in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, 1,034 tons of rice were distributed in five areas, including 480 tons of rice for Jakarta, 110 tons for Medan in North Sumatra, 114 tons in Bandung, West Java, 130 tons in Semarang, Central Java, and 170 tons in Surabaya, East Java.
Bulog president director Djarot Kusumayakti said the market operation was part of efforts 'to stabilize food prices, and at the same time, show that the government is always ready to ease people's burdens during tough times'.
Your comments:
It seems that some other advisors are of a different opinion to the President and that various players have not synchronized their statements yet.
See: 'Meanwhile, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Tuesday that Bulog was currently in the process of purchasing around 1.5 million tons of rice from Thailand and Vietnam.'
Kelapa
Indonesia currently holds 1.7 million tons in rice stocks and is NOT importing. Meanwhile, the country is going through a prolonged drought. With a stock of 1.7 million tons for a population of 250 million people, that works out at 6.8 kilograms per person.
How long will 6.8 kg of rice last a person?
The short-duration rice varieties (which are commonly found in Indonesia) take between three and four months to mature.
So why is the government still pussyfooting around? Look north and import some cheap but superior-quality rice from Thailand, Vietnam or Cambodia while the rupiah still holds some value.
That would be one sure way of stabilizing the price of rice, and of helping the poor, about whom Jokowi claimed to care deeply during his presidential election campaign.
Abu Abu
