Bapanas is currently calculating reasonable prices for grain, rice, corn and sugar
Adjusting the reference prices for a number of staple foods will mean that food prices which are starting to fall will remain slightly higher.
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By
HENDRIYO WIDI
·4 minutes read
BPMI SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN/RUSMAN
President Jokowi provides assistance to farmers after inspecting the corn harvest in Boalemo Regency, Gorontalo Province, Monday (22/4/2024).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — National Food Agency or Bapanas is recalculating the reasonable price of grain, rice, corn, and sugar. This effort is in order to determine new reference prices for the four commodities at the producer and consumer levels.
This was revealed during the Coordination Meeting for Regional Inflation Control, held by the Ministry of Home Affairs through a hybrid format in Jakarta on Monday, April 22, 2024. The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Home Affairs, Tito Karnavian.
Deputy I in charge of Food Availability and Stabilization at Bapanas, Gusti Ketut Astawa, says that the government is currently reviewing the government purchase price (HPP) of rice at both the farmer and mill level, as well as the highest retail price (HET) of rice. The reference price for purchasing corn and the cost of sales and reference price for selling consumer sugar will also be evaluated.
This is necessary in order to maintain the prices of rice, corn, and sugar at the farmer level from plummeting. The adjustment also takes into account the increase in production costs for each of these commodities.
"The reasonable price for each commodity at the producer and consumer level will be recalculated. If there are price adjustments in the future, the price of some staple foods that are likely to start decreasing will certainly remain somewhat high," he said.
If there is a price adjustment later, the prices of a number of staple foods which tend to start to fall will definitely remain a little high.
Astawa exemplifies that when the price of dried corn at the farmer level is kept from dropping below Rp 5,000 per kilogram, the prices of chicken meat and eggs will surely remain slightly high. For instance, the price of chicken eggs can reach Rp 28,000-Rp 29,000 per kilogram.
Currently, the reference price for purchasing dried maize with a 15% moisture content at the farmer level is IDR 4,200 per kg. Meanwhile, the retail price of chicken eggs at the consumer level is IDR 27,000 per kg.
Bapanas is currently implementing a temporary dry harvest rice price (GKP) of Rp 6,000 per kg and a premium rice price of Rp 14,900-Rp 15,400 per kg. The GKP price is applicable from April 3 to June 30, 2024, while the premium rice price is applicable from March 10 to April 24, 2024.
In addition, Bapanas has implemented a temporary regulation of sugar's maximum retail price at Rp 17,500-Rp 18,500 per kilogram from April 5 to May 31, 2024. Officially, the maximum retail price of sugar is Rp 14,500-Rp 15,500 per kilogram depending on the region.
In order to establish a new reference price, Bapanas has gathered proposals for the HPP of rice and sugar from several farmers' organizations. They proposed that the HPP for unhusked rice increase from IDR 5,000 per kg to IDR 7,000 per kg, and sugar from IDR 12,500 per kg to IDR 16,400 per kg.
President Joko Widodo inspected the availability of rice at the Bulog Warehouse in Bakaran Batu, Labuhan Batu Regency, North Sumatra Province, on Friday (March 15, 2024) afternoon.
Grain uptake
During the meeting, Perum Bulog has also started to absorb grain or rice from within the country. This is in line with the big rice harvest and falling prices of grain and rice.
The Head of Operational Planning and Public Services Division of Bulog, Epi Sulandari, stated that as of April 21, 2024, Bulog has absorbed 115,000 tons of rice-equivalent paddy. The absorption of paddy was carried out in various regions including South Sumatra, Lampung, Banten, Central Java, Yogyakarta Special Region, East Java, Merauke, and Central Kalimantan.
Out of that number, 75,000 tons have been set aside as government rice reserves (CBP). Therefore, the total stock of Bulog's rice, both imported and domestically sourced, is 1.27 million tons.
"The stock consists of 1.25 million tons of CBP and 20,849 tons of commercial rice," he said.
On the other hand, Bapanas also asked Bulog to absorb farmers' corn. This is because the price of dried corn at the farmers' level in several regions, especially Dompu and Bima in West Nusa Tenggara, has significantly decreased.
Ketut stated that the price of dried corn kernels at the farmer level in Dompu and Bima has fallen below the reference purchase price. Therefore, Bulog and associations of livestock breeders and feed industries have been asked to absorb the corn.
Based on data from the Bapanas Food Prices Panel, as of April 22 2024, the national average prices of GKP and dry shelled corn at the farmer level are IDR 5,760 per kg and IDR 4,530 per kg, respectively. This price has fallen below the highest average price that occurred in February 2024, for GKP IDR 7,080 per kg and corn IDR 6,660 per kg.
