REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Association of All District Government of Indonesia (Apkasi) has urged the government to review its plan to import rice from Vietnam and Thailand by crosschecking the real data on rice availability in the region.
"Based on the data, facts, and input from the district heads, we put forth a suggestion to the central government to seriously review the policy to import rice, so as not to disadvantage the farmers in the region," Apkasi chairman Mardani H. Maming remarked in a press statement on Wednesday.
Mardani, who also serves as the Tanah Bumbu district head in South Kalimantan Province, is currently promoting development of the agricultural sector in the region, especially making it the hub for the breeding of rice and corn for the Kalimantan area.
Also read: Imported rice not to be released in the markets: Bulog
"The rice import policy is a very reasonable effort of the government to stabilize the price of a commodity in the country, but the policy must be thoroughly studied, otherwise this import policy can be counterproductive and can affect the condition of farmers in the country," he pointed out.
The Indonesian government has decided to import 500 thousand tons of rice due to the declining supply in the domestic market, Vice President Jusuf Kalla has stated.
"We have a reference price. If (the rice price) is above the reference price, then Bulog (the national logistics board) must sell (its rice). However, owing to the declining stocks, Bulog must import rice first and later sell it. If the price falls, it must buy rice to push up the price. That is the system," Kalla explained after inaugurating the executive board of the Indonesian Mosque Council at the Istiqlal Mosque here last Friday.
The decline in domestic rice stocks is a result of factors, such as the weather phenomenon, which has led to inadequate rice production, he noted.
"Normally, Bulog does not buy rice if it is wet due to the rains. However, if rice production is large, I am certain that Bulog will buy it," he added.
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