Jokowi inspects government rice reserves at Bulog’s warehouses

Jakarta, The Gulf Observer: President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inspected the government rice reserves at the warehouses of the state-owned logistics company Bulog in Jakarta and Bogor, West Java.

“I visited Bulog’s warehouses here (in Bogor) and the one in Jakarta to make sure that the stock is available. The most important thing is that the stock, the goods, and the rice are there,” President Jokowi stated here on Monday.

He visited Bulog’s warehouses in Jakarta and Bogor to check rice supplies for meeting the community needs amid the drought due to the El Nino weather phenomenon.

The Presidential Secretariat stated that President Jokowi visited the Bulog Warehouse on 11 Nasional Street, Babakan, Dramaga Sub-district, Bogor, West Java.

President Jokowi was accompanied by Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir, Head of the National Food Agency Arief Prasetyo Adi, President Director of Bulog Budi Waseso, Acting Governor of West Java Bey Machmudin, and Bogor District Head Iwan Setiawan.

In his statement after the inspection, the head of state confirmed that the national rice stock in Bulog’s warehouses had reached 1.6 million tons.

“The warehouse stocks 1.6 million tons (of rice), while 400 thousand tons is on the way, so there will be a stock of two million tons. Usually, our stock is only 1.2 million tons. Here, we will have two million tons, so we do not need to worry,” he stated.

However, Jokowi said that the government still needs to import rice to ensure supplies are met in order to minimize the increase in commodity prices due to the El Nino phenomenon that is occurring throughout the country.

The president said he had spoken to several state leaders regarding the import of rice into Indonesia.

“I have spoken with Prime Minister (of Cambodia) Hun Manet, the President of Bangladesh, Prime Minister (of India) Modi, and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Not for now, but for next year’s plan, to anticipate,” he remarked.

In addition, the president noted that the government will distribute food assistance for the community from September to November this year.