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Govt hikes rice import quota 1.6m tonnes to bolster reserves
Bapanas announced on Monday that this year's import quota for rice had been increased by another 1.6 million tonnes as a precautionary measure, and made reassurances that this boost ensured there would be enough rice for the upcoming Ramadan-Idul Fitri holiday season.
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Farmers thresh rice on Oct. 11, 2023 after a harvest in Laladon village, Bogor regency, West Java. (Antara/Arif Firmansyah)
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According to Bapanas head Arief Prasetyo Adi, although President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has instructed the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to maintain minimum rice reserves of 1.2 million tonnes, ideally the President would like to see minimum reserves of 3 million tonnes while waiting for the primary harvest season to arrive.
“The additional 1.6 million tonnes is a precaution,” Arief said on Monday, as quoted by state-owned news agency Antara.
As much as 500,000 tonnes out of the government’s initial rice quota of 2 million tonnes for this year had been imported so far, Arief continued.
“The [remaining] 2 million tonnes will arrive soon,” he added.
Read also: Indonesia to import rice from Thailand to fight shortages, rising prices
While acknowledging the current imbalance in the price of rice for consumers and producers, Arief underlined that the government was prepared to respond to price fluctuations.
