Serang, Banten (ANTARA News) - Agriculture Minister Anton Apriantono said the government had assigned the state-owned logistics agency Bulog to purchase farmers' unhulled rice as soon as possible because the rice purchase mechanism and funds have been made available.
"The government has disbursed Rp6 trillion and has assinged Bulog to purchase farmers` unhusked rice based on the government`s purchasing price (HPP)," the minister told reporters here on Friday.
He was here to address a Muslim gathering for Islamic studies.
The minister said the government had specified certain quality conditions which Bulog should follow in buying farmers` unhusked rice.
Therefore, he said, Bulog is expected to purchase farmers` rice based on the government-set HPP. The government has set the HPP which is effective beginning this month.
As of April 1, 2007, the government`s purchasing price for dried unhusked rice (GKP) would be Rp2,000 per kg, for dried unhusked milled rice (GKG) Rp2,575 per kg and for rice Rp4,000 per kg.
Bulog said on Monday it was ready to disburse Rp4 trillion for the purchase of farmers` unhulled rice in the April-May 2007 harvest season.
Bulog President Director Mustafa Abubakar said that Bulog had disbursed Rp1.4 trillion to purchase 390 thousand tons of farmers` unhulled rice in the January-March 2007 period.
"For the April-May period, Bulog will disburse another Rp4 trillion. With the funds, we hope Bulog will be able to buy 900 thousand tons of unhusked rice in the first harvest season of the targeted 1.5 million tons this year," he said.
The government has set a target of rice production at 54.6 million tons in 2007 but it later revised and raised it to 58.1 million tons of unhusked rice, or an increase by 3.5 million tons.
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