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Think tank lambasts 'reckless' rice import plan
CORE research associate Dwi Andreas Santosa says more rice imports will hurt domestic producers by pushing down farmgate prices.
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Grains of contention: Workers unload rice imported from Thailand on Sept. 6, 2023, at Ujung Baru seaport in Medan Belawan, North Sumatra. (Antara/Yudi)
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think thank has strongly condemned President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's decision to import 3 million tonnes of rice this year, arguing that the policy will cut farmgate prices to the detriment of domestic farmers.
"It is reckless, baseless and devoid of data and calculations," Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) research associate Dwi Andreas Santosa said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
According to a data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the government imported 3.06 million tonnes of rice last year in anticipation of lower domestic output because of the El Niño climate phenomenon.
In December, Jokowi stated that the country would import another 3 million tonnes this year, with 2 million tonnes coming from Thailand and the rest from India. According to the President, the move was aimed at ensuring food security, as many countries had stopped rice exports in response to a global price surge.
However, Dwi opined that the effects of El Niño reduced rice production in the country by only 0.65 percent. He even forecast an increase of 0.9 to 1.5 million tonnes in rice harvests this year, with the peak of the harvest season to come between March and April.
Selling prices of dry grains have stabilized over the past months, he added.
"But suddenly, the government decided to import 3 million tonnes of rice this year. If the stock increases, I am sure the selling price of harvested dry grains from farmers will drop. And who will be most impacted by this? Farmers," stated Dwi, who is also the chairman of the Association of Indonesian Seed Banks and Farmer Technology (AB2TI).
