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Jakarta - Main Director of Perum Bulog Bayu Krisnamurthi said he had received guaranteed supplies for rice imports from various countries, starting from Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, Myanmar, India and China.

"We are opening everything and in this case we have received quite good guarantees of supplies starting from Thailand, India, Vietnam, Pakistan, Myanmar and even from China it is still open. At that time the president himself who led the diplomacy was also still open, " said Bayu after checking rice at the Sunter Bulog Warehouse, Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, Saturday (30/12/2023).

Bayu explained that the agreement to import rice from India would use the Government to Government (G to G) scheme. Because previously it was known that the Ministry of Trade had also approached India to import rice from that country.

"From India with G to G, the Indonesian government is taking a special approach. We can get guarantees from them that the G to G approach through Bulog is possible," he explained.

"From Thailand there are also 2 mechanisms G to G and B to B and both can be represented by Bulog, so having Bulog as a BUMN makes it flexible when ordered via GTOG, it can also be via B to B, which could be our advantage compared to others," he explained. .

However, Bayu did not provide further information regarding the amount of rice imported from China and India. As is known, plans to import from these two countries have been around for a long time. However, the plan was not realized.

"We are all open, so we will take according to our needs, they also provide that kind of commitment," he explained.

"Indonesia needs 2 million tons (rice imports) next year. We will try to find the best," said Bayu in a press conference at Bulog Corporate University, South Jakarta, Thursday (21/12/2023).

Bayu explained that the need for imports is up to 2 million tons in 2024 considering the shortage in 2023 which will reach around 1.3 million tons and seeing that uncertainty is still high. Plus food aid and Market Price Supply Stabilization (SPHP) 2024

Source: Detik Finance (Google translation from Bahasa Indonesia)