The Government of the Republic of Indonesia (RI) ensures that rice stocks in the country are sufficient and safe, especially for the people facing the holy month of Ramadhan and the upcoming 2024 Eid celebrations.
Regarding this, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that the government had indeed prepared all rice stocks to face the arrival of this blessed month. No half-hearted, even preparing rice stocks ahead of Ramadhan itself has become a routine carried out by the government every year.
Because it has become a routine every year, the government always maintains rice stocks, especially before the month of Ramadan, so there is no need to worry at all.
Not only that, but the Head of State also confirmed that rice stocks in Indonesia are currently in very abundant condition. This is based on the latest conditions which he has just reviewed at the Logistics Agency (Bulog) warehouse in the Cibitung area, Bekasi, West Java Province (Jabar).
Because the rice stock itself is very safe and even abundant, there is one thing that is an important highlight and should be implemented immediately, namely, according to President Jokowi, this is related to efforts to distribute rice evenly.
In terms of distribution, the Government of the Republic of Indonesia is committed that the distribution of all the country’s abundant rice stocks ahead of Ramadhan must be carried out very evenly and well to all sectors such as in markets, to the community and even to supermarkets so that everyone is able to have rice available.
Furthermore, rice assistance of 10 kilograms (kg) for each recipient family is also continuing, with assistance from the government implemented since September 2023 and it is planned that this assistance will continue to be distributed until June 2024.
Likewise, the Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia (Mendag RI), Zulkifli Hasan (Zulhas) also confirmed that the country indeed has sufficient rice supplies for the period from Ramadhan to Eid al-Fitr 2024.
It is known that currently the government has rice stocks of up to 1.4 million tons of rice, which will be increased by the influx of imported rice so that the total can be 2 million tons of rice.
The entire rice stock is part of the Food Supply and Price Stabilization (SPHP) program launched by the Indonesian Government through Perum Bulog. Regarding the price itself, the price set for SPHP rice in zone 1 is Rp. 10.90 per kilogram, then in zone 2 it is Rp. 11,500 per kilogram, and in zone 3 it is Rp. 11,800 per kilogram.
It turns out that rice from the government’s SPHP program is quite popular with all people in Indonesia because it is very easy to get in various places such as traditional markets, modern retail, Perum Bulog outlets and the local Regional Government (Pemda).
Meanwhile, the Main Director (Dirut) of Perum Bulog, Bayu Krisnamurthi, emphasized that his party also has a very strong commitment to being ready to meet all the rice needs of the people in the country until the upcoming fasting month of Ramadhan and Eid 1445 Hijriah.
Bulog itself has also routinely distributed rice to various distribution channels, both for the Rice Food Assistance Program and for the SPHP program in order to be able to meet all community needs.
On the other hand, the Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), Arief Prasetyo Adi, also said that rice supplies in Indonesia ahead of Ramadhan could be guaranteed to be safe. For this reason, he then appealed to the entire community not to be easily influenced by the possibility and tendency to panic buying, especially by buying excessive amounts of rice.
Because the availability of rice stocks is guaranteed to be there and very sufficient, the public does not need to panic buy, because the Indonesian Government has been trying and preparing the rice stocks even long ago, so there is no need to worry about a shortage of supply.
So far, the actual absorption of rice sourced from local tenai in the country itself in 2024 has even reached 107 thousand tons. Then for the Regional Government Rice Reserve (CBPP) stock until the second week of February 2024, the overall total is at 7.5 thousand tons.
Therefore, in March 2024 it is projected that there will be a rice harvest of 3.5 million tons. So this projection is expected to be able to provide a significant additional rice supply, and can also help to further reduce the price of rice on the market.
Ahead of the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan and the celebration of Eid al-Fitr 2024, the Indonesian Government ensures that all rice stocks are safe, abundant and able to meet the needs of the people in Indonesia. So people don’t need to panic buy.
