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Two million tonne rice import plan puts govt on tightrope
Govt has laid out a plan to import 2 million tonnes of rice in 2023 to fill the diminishing government rice reserves (CBP), but the move has sparked a backlash from farmers over concerns of declining farmgate prices.
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Paddy fields wait to be harvested on March 11 during the Panen Padi Nusantara Satu Juta Hektar (1-million-hectare paddy field national harvest) event in Parigi Moutong regency, Central Sulawesi. The regency is one of the leading rice-producing centers in the province, which is among the country’s top 10 rice-cultivating provinces. (Antara/Mohamad Hamzah)
T
he government has decided to import 2 million tonnes of rice in 2023 to replenish diminishing government rice reserves (CBP) needed to stabilize prices at the consumer level, with 500,000 tonnes to be delivered “as soon as possible”.
The move has sparked a backlash from smallholders in producing regions, fearing the import would bring down farmgate prices and hurt local farmers.
The amount marks the largest CBP import during President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo's 10-year tenure after a 2017 decision that brought in 1.8 million tonnes of rice.
The National Food Agency (NFA) tasked the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to carry out the import so it could replenish its stock.
The decision was taken after the CBP depleted from 1 million tonnes in early 2022 to 230,000 tonnes in March, below the safe threshold required by law at 1.5 million tonnes.
The NFA further added that the supply was needed to disburse as social aid, amounting to 640,000 tonnes for more than 21.35 million households, which could not be covered with the current stock level.
“Bulog’s CBP is only 220,000 tonnes. We do not want the stock to be unavailable while we need to carry out such a program,” NFA chief Arief Prasetyo Adi told reporters on Monday, as quoted from Tempo.co.
