President Director of Perum Bulog, Bayu Krisnamurthi, said that the increase in rice on the market occurred throughout the world due to the El Nino storm which affected production.

"According to BPS data, rice production in Indonesia in November and December experienced a deficit. Until January, it is possible that rice production will still be in deficit. This is what causes prices to rise," said Bayu after giving a public lecture at Airlangga University, Surabaya, Friday (8/12/2023 ).

To stabilize prices, Bayu admitted that his party distributed rice needs to 21 million low-income beneficiary families (KPM). Bulog has also distributed one million tons of rice to be sold at a lower price than the market price.

"So the price is IDR 1,000 - IDR 1,500 cheaper than the market price," said Bayu.

To meet community needs, Bulog obtained permission to import 2 million tons of rice from January to date, which has been distributed to 21 million low-income KPM. The second stage of imports is with a quota of 1 million tons this December.

Bayu said that in 2024 Bulog will again import rice to maintain price stability. The reason is, the harvest period is late due to the late planting period.

Bayu said the government's rice reserves are currently around 1.57 million tonnes, sufficient for December to March 2024.

Bulog is a state-owned public company which operates in the food logistics sector. The company's business scope includes logistics/warehousing, pest surveying and eradication, provision of plastic sacks, transportation business, food commodity trading and retail business.

As a company that continues to carry out public duties from the government, Bulog continues to carry out activities to maintain basic purchasing prices for grain, stabilize prices, especially basic prices, distribute rice for social assistance (Bansos) and manage food stocks.