The government’s recent decision to allow the import of high-quality rice to ease the stubbornly high prices of the commodity over the past few months is seen as contradictory to the real needs on the ground.

Premium-grade rice totaling 500,000 tons will be sourced from major producing countries, such as Thailand and Vietnam, and is set to reach Indonesia late January through state-owned trading firm PT Perusahaan Perdagangan Indonesia (PT PPI).

State Logistics Agency (Bulog) president director Djarot Kusumayakti has suggested that the government revise the policy as it contradicts the fact that a majority of Indonesians consume “medium-grade” rice.

“I believe there will be a correction [on the policy] as it has not been implemented yet,” he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

The Trade Ministry assured that premium rice, such as jasmine rice and japonica rice, would be sold at a price similar to medium-grade varieties, or between Rp 9,450 (71 US cents) and Rp 10,250 per kilogram.

Medium-grade rice has seen the highest price hikes.

The Trade Ministry’s foreign trade director general, Oke Nurwan, said the import would not violate prevailing rules, in which the Agriculture Ministry must issue an import recommendation before the policy is implemented.

“The imported rice is premium rice, not medium-grade, and therefore, no import recommendation from the Agriculture Ministry is necessary,” he said.

As the rice was of a “special category,” Oke said it could simply be imported through a state-owned company — PT PPI in this case — instead of Bulog, whose task is solely to serve the government’s program through a public service obligation (PSO) scheme.

However, Dwi Andreas Santosa, an expert from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), argued that the special category rice was the same as medium-grade rice, which meant only Bulog could import the commodity.

“What does the government mean with ‘special’ rice? If it’s 5 percent broken rice, then only Bulog can import it because Bulog is the only agency that has all the infrastructure,” he said, referring to the Asian benchmark of 5 percent broken rice for the Thai and Vietnamese premium variety.

Rice prices in Jakarta surged by 15.3 percent from September last year to reach Rp 13,600 per kg on Saturday, according to data from Bank Indonesia’s (BI) price tracking website hargapangan.id.

In West Java and East Java, prices rose by 12.1 percent and 13.8 percent, respectively, to Rp 11,750 and Rp 11,550 per kg.

Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita argued on Friday that the policy would serve only as a temporary solution until prices stabilize and stocks pile up, and that it would not affect local farmers who would see their output absorbed by Bulog.

The Indonesian Farmers Union (SPI) express regret over the government’s decision and attributed the declining rice supply and price hike to the lack of government assistance in combatting pests eroding farmers’ output.

SPI chairman Henry Saragih has called on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to evaluate the performance of Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman, who had vowed to resign if his ministry failed to realize Jokowi’s dream of a self-sufficient Indonesia.

Andreas of the IPB said it was the first time in history an import policy was issued in January, as such measures usually took place mid-year to support distribution during critical supply months.

However, he said the policy could ease the high prices of rice as it would influence rice traders to release their rice stock.

“After the news [import policy], prices could decline by around 10 percent. But we should wait one or two weeks to see if [the policy] really works,” Andreas said. (srs)

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