Jakarta - A number of rice whole-sellers at Cipinang market in Jakarta have expressed hope that State Logistics Agency (Bulog) would soon launch a rice market operation to control fluctuating prices. "We hope that Bulog will soon supply sufficient quantities of rice because prices are currently exorbitantly high," Anton, one of the rice whole-sellers at Cipinang market said on Tuesday. Anton said very expensive rice prices has troubled the traders to sell their rice. Meanwhile, Harsono Rusli, another trader, said since the rice price hikes rice sale at his shop dropped averagely by eight tons per day. "When rice prices went up a few days before Idul Fitri, Bulog supplied hundreds of tons of rice per day but now the supply drops to once in three or four days," Harsono said. He said Bulog was expected to conduct market operation immediately to lower the rice prices which rose by Rp400 per kilogram this week. According to Harsono, the price of IR-1 rice last Wednesday was Rp7,300 per kilogram but now it rose to Rp7,700 per kilogram, while IR-2 and IR-3 rice also rose by Rp400 per kilogram respectively to be Rp7,300 per kilogram and Rp7,100 per kilogram. Harsono said crop failure in Central Java and East Java has contributed to the rice price hikes at Cipinang wholesale market because the harvest in Karawang as the rice supplier to the markets in Jakarta has to be diverted to Central and East Java. Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Suswono said here on Monday that long spell of drought has affected 95,891 hectares of rice fields in various regions in Indonesia from January to August this year with 3,713 hectares failing to produce a harvest.

Pewarta:

Editor : FAROCHA


COPYRIGHT © ANTARA News Jawa Timur 2011