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Last month, there was a debate as to whether Indonesia needed to import rice,
mainly because data on rice production was not the same at a number of state
agencies.
Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita had permits for the importation of two million
tons of rice this year, saying imports were needed to guarantee adequate stocks,
in anticipation of shortfall in domestic supplies.
"The State Audit Board (BPK) must dare to audit it thoroughly. The difference in
data is too great, and this concerns the lives of many people," Suparji said.
A similar view was made by Jakarta State University`s (UNJ`s) political observer
Ubedillah Badrun. He called the data mismatch reasonable, as will be seen if
investigated.
He explained that there are two possibilities if an agency has different data. The
first is that there is a methodological error. The second possibility is that there is
something triggered by certain interests behind the figure.
Indonesian Ombudsman Commissioner Ahmad Alamsyah Saragih advised the
government to audit the rice stock and the capacity of all warehouses of the
State Logistics Board to obtain data on the actual conditions.
"The government must audit the stock of the logistics board, including its
warehouse capacity to find out what the situation is actually like. Is the stock
abundant, is it enough or not?" Ahmad Alamsyah Saragih said.
The government, in this case the Ministry of Agriculture, has this year set a target
of unhulled rice production at 80 million tons.
The gap in data about rice was revealed after BPS released the 2018 rice
production surplus, which only reached 2.8 million tons, far below the Ministry of
Agriculture`s data or calculations.
Based on the Ministry of Agriculture`s official website, this year`s rice surplus
would reach 13.03 million tons.
The calculation is made for 2018 based upon the unhulled rice production of 80
million tons, or 46.5 million tons of rice equivalent, while the total national rice
consumption is only 33.47 million tons.
According to Vice President Jusuf Kalla, with the BPS method of calculation,
unhulled production will only be 56.54 million tons, not 80 millions as set earlier.
"Do not forget that, with the production of 56.54 million tons of dry-milled rice
grains, we still have a surplus. If we say that we have 80 million tons of dry-milled
rice grains, but we still import, people will laugh at us," he said.
Therefore, Vice President Jusuf Kalla has hinted that the Indonesian Government
would not implement its rice import policy because rice stocks at the warehouses
of Bulog, the state-owned logistics company, remain sufficient.
"We have no plan to import rice now, because we do not meet any of the
required conditions to do so. The rice stock at Bulog`s warehouses is recorded at
2.2 million tons, and the retail price of rice also remains stable," he said here on
Monday. (Oct 22)
Speaking to journalists after chairing a limited meeting for improving the method
of calculating rice production, Jusuf Kalla said one of the conditions for importing
rice is whether Bulog`s rice stock had reached less than one million tons.
The second condition was related to the retail price of rice, which increased 10
percent from the price ceilings that the government has previously set, he said,
adding that there were no acceptable reasons for importing rice at the moment.
Head of the State Logistics Board (Bulog) Budi Waseso and Agriculture Minister
Andi Amran were virtually against the rice imports.
Indonesia will not need to import rice, as it has adequate supply of the staple
commodity to meet demand until June 2019, Budi Waseso stated.
Waseso told the press in Jakarta last month (Sept 19) that he had formed a team
involving the Agriculture Ministry, Bulog, and independent experts to analyze the
national rice demand and supply.
"The team has recommended that we do not need to import until June 2019.
Moreover, Bulog might also not have to release its imported rice stock. We have
to maintain it. We should not rely on imports," Waseso, popularly known as
Buwas, revealed.
“It is an old paradigm. Don’t use old paradigms,” Amran said in West Bandung
regency, West Java when opening a horticultural event on Thursday, but declined to
comment further.
State Logistics Agency president director Budi Waseso and Trade Minister
Enggartiasto Lukita were involved in an open debate about whether the country
needed to import rice or not.
In April, the government laid out its plan to import 2 million tons of rice this year,
which was followed by Enggartiasto issuing a rice import recommendation. Budi said
Indonesia had adequate rice stocks for up to June 2019.
Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said the government had imported
1.4 million tons of out of the planned 2 tons. He added that because of technical
problems, in which exporting countries could not meet the schedule, the government
canceled the import of the remaining 600,000 tons.
While declining to comment further, Amran said the country had established food
security and sovereignty. He added that 1 million hectares of rice fields across the
country were ready to be harvested.
Selain itu, Moeldoko menilai bahwa faktor cuaca juga mempengaruhi produktivitas,
sehingga pemerintah masih memerlukan impor. Persoalannya, Moeldoko berujar,
impor tidak boleh dilakukan saat petani mau panen.
"Kalau memang ada indikasi bahwa cadangan nasional beras itu tidak mencukupi.
Karena kita bisa berhitung bahwa kebutuhan nasional kita itu 2,4 juta ton per bulan.
Jadi kalau sudah ini bahaya, mepet, harus ada upaya-upaya," ujar dia.
Kementerian Perdagangan dan Bulog bersitegang dalam urusan impor beras. Bulog
berkukuh bahwa impor beras tak perlu dilakukan. Sebaliknya, Kementerian
Perdagangan menyebutkan impor beras tetap berjalan.
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Moeldoko mengatakan, secara realitas, Indonesia masih perlu impor beras. Menurut
Enggar, keputusan impor diambil karena kemampuan produksi dalam negeri yang
masih rendah. Hal itu diputuskan dalam rakor yang dihadiri Kementerian Koordinator
Perekonomian, Kementerian Perdagangan, Kementerian Pertanian, dan Bulog.