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Govt to import another 2 million tonnes of rice in 2024: Bulog
Bulog confirmed on Thursday that it had been tasked with importing another 2 million tonnes of rice in 2024 to secure the country's rice reserves.
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A farmer plants rice seedlings on Oct. 10, 2023 at her paddy field in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara. The government has projected a decline in harvest this year due to El Niño. (Antara/Ahmad Subaidi)
T
he government had directed the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to import another 2 million tonnes of rice next year to secure the country’s rice reserves, Bulog president director Budi Waseso said on Thursday.
The government would keep a close eye on local rice production as well as weather conditions, Budi added.
“We don’t want to take risk. If the projection says [output] is lacking, then we will supply [enough] to cover the shortfall,” he said, as quoted by Kompas.com.
Read also: Two million tonne rice import plan puts govt on tightrope
Budi added that the agency needed to calculate the import quota carefully before moving ahead with the procurement plan, to ensure that the rice was not stored over an extended period of time at the risk of a loss in quality.
“If we store the rice for too long, the cost will be high,” he said.
Next year’s plan to import rice comes after two additional rice imports this year: The government earlier tasked Bulog with importing 2 million tonnes of rice to replenish its diminishing reserves for 2023, while also asking to import another 1.5 million tonnes, saying the country needed to brace for a poor harvest due to impacts from El Niño.
