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View all search resultsOmbudsman warns Rp 4t worth of Bulog rice may go to waste
The at-risk stock is suspected to be a mix of imported rice from mid-2024 and lower-quality unhusked rice previously procured by Bulog.
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A worker tidies up a stack of locally produced rice at state food company Perum Bulog’s warehouse in Indramayu, West Java, on May 30, 2024. (Antara/Dedhez Anggara)
T
he Indonesian Ombudsman revealed that approximately 300,000 tonnes of rice stored at State Logistics Agency (Bulog) warehouses are at risk of deteriorating to the point of being declared unfit for consumption and potentially discarded. This situation could trigger state losses estimated at Rp 4 trillion (US$243.4 million).
Ombudsman member Yeka Hendra Fatika said the agency was investigating the management of the government rice reserves (CBP) following the discovery. The at-risk stock is suspected to be a mix of imported rice from mid-2024 and lower-quality unhusked rice previously procured by Bulog.
“This is a rough estimate, but the potential losses could reach Rp 4 trillion,” Yeka said on Tuesday, as quoted by Bisnis.
He called on the government to take concrete steps to improve the distribution process and to immediately separate rice that is truly gone off from stocks that can still be repurposed.
The Ombudsman also suggested that the agency reprocess older stocks that are still usable by blending them with higher-quality imported rice to mitigate losses.
This warning echoes earlier concerns from agricultural experts. Dwi Andreas Santosa, a professor at Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), previously estimated that more than 100,000 tonnes of rice would be disposed of this year at a potential state cost of Rp 1.2 trillion, according to a Kompas.com report on Tuesday. He highlighted that Bulog’s subsidiary warehouses are reportedly overflowing, creating a critical stock management problem.
The findings underscore a paradox in national food policy, where efforts to secure reserves are now threatened by massive potential wastage, demanding immediate and transparent action from Bulog to prevent further fiscal losses.
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