JAKARTA, Sept 5 (NNN-ANTARA) – Indonesia aims to have rice reserves of two million tonnes by the end of Dec, to prepare for a potential decline in production, expected towards the end of this year and early next year, according to Arief Prasetyo Adi, head of the National Food Agency.
This target is also set to address the anticipated increase in rice demand, due to the simultaneous regional elections scheduled for Nov.
“The critical months are expected to be Nov, Dec, and Jan, so we need to secure sufficient reserves. Currently, our rice reserves have reached 1.39 million tonnes,” Arief stated, during a hearing with the House of Representatives in Jakarta, yesterday.
Bayu Krisnamurthi, president director of Perum Bulog, Indonesia’s national food and logistic company, recently announced that, Indonesia plans to import up to 3.6 million tonnes of rice by the end of this year.
So far, 2.4 million tonnes have already been imported, with the remaining 1.2 million tonnes expected to arrive before Dec.– NNN-ANTARA
