Indonesia: Rice prices climb as prolonged dry season disrupts production

Arya Dipa, Wahyoe Boediwardhana and Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post 14 Sep 15;

With many rice fields on the brink of harvest failure as a result of this year’s extended dry season, rice prices across the country have gradually increased in recent weeks, forcing people to spend more on the country’s main staple food.

In West Java, one of the country’s largest rice-producing regions, the average price of rice was recently recorded at Rp 9,678 (68 US cents) per kilogram, according to data from the Food Price Information Portal jointly managed by the central bank and 27 regional administrations in the province.

In the provincial capital Bandung, the average price of medium-quality rice, for example, stood at Rp 9,800 per kg last week, a slight increase from Rp 9,752 recorded in August.

West Java Agriculture and Food Crops Agency head Diden Trisnadi expressed concern that rice production in the province might decrease as a result of the extended dry season, which has left many farmers struggling to properly irrigate their land.

“If the drought goes on as is, our [rice] production could drop to only 11.6 million tons,” Diden said, adding that the Central Bureau of Statistic (BPS) had previously estimated that the province’s rice production could reach 12.1 million tons this year.

West Java currently has 936,000 hectares of rice fields. Drought, according to Diden, has affected at least 67,000 ha of rice fields in 20 regencies and municipalities in West Java, with Indramayu the worst hit area.

“Of that total, over 7,400 hectares have already experienced harvest failure,” Diden said adding that he nonetheless remained optimistic that the province’s rice production this year would still be sufficient to meet the demands of its 46 million inhabitants.

Meanwhile, in East Java, another major rice-producing region, rice prices have increased by almost Rp 1,000 per kilogram compared with those recorded last month.

However, some farmers attribute that price increase to their reluctance to sell off their unhusked rice to traders in the hope of much better prices to come.

“I’m keeping around 10 tons of unhusked Lodaya rice from my latest harvest,” said Gayuh Satria Wicaksono, a farmer from Kunti subdistrict, Ponorogo.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) predicts that the El Niño weather phenomenon will extend Indonesia’s dry season, which normally takes place between April and September, until November, and affect 18 of the country’s 34 provinces.

The government has always endeavored to keep the price of rice stable. The commodity is a key contributor to inflation and price fluctuations could lead to public protests and political instability.

A similar price increase is also evident at traditional markets in Central Java, North Sulawesi and Gorontalo.

Turdin, a rice trader in Bone Bolango regency, Gorontalo, said he currently sold several types of rice for between Rp 8,500 and Rp 9,000 per liter. Previously they were sold for between Rp 7,500 and Rp 8,000 per liter.

Separately, State Logistics Agency’s (Bulog) procurement director Wahyu acknowledged that the current drought had affected the agency’s rice stock, as many farmers had now preferred to store their rice rather than selling them to Bulog, which sets buying prices for rice lower than the market prices.

Wahyu, however, said that the agency currently had 1.7 million tons of rice that would be sufficient to meet the country’s rice demand until the end of the year.

“I can assure that our rice supply is adequate until December,” he said on Sunday. (saf)

Lita Aruperes in Manado and Syamsul Huda M. Suhari in Gorontalo contributed to the article.