Agriculture Ministry to Focus on Self-Sufficiency in Four Commodities in 2018

Jakarta, InfoPublik - Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said that Indonesia has achieved self-sufficiency in four main food commodities namely rice, shallot, corn and chili pepper last year. Meanwhile this year, the ministry will focus on four other food commodities namely spices, garlic, sugar and soybean.

"We have accomplished self-sufficiency in rice, shallot, corn and chili pepper. The stock of those four foods is secure. Therefore, we will begin to focus on other commodities such as spices, garlic, sugar and soybean," he said during the Coordination Meeting on Food Resilience and Special Efforts (UPSUS) Evaluation 2017 at the Ministry of Agriculture, Jakarta on Wednesday (1/3).

Furthermore, he explained that Indonesia has stopped shallot imports. He said that based on data, Indonesia had imported 72 thousand tons of shallot in 2014, 12 thousand in 2015 and stopped importing in 2016. Indonesia has now exported shallot to six countires including Thailand in 2017.

Regarding the stock of rice, he continued, the stock in Bulog (the National Logistics Agency) currently is recorded about 1 million tons. The amount is expected to rise considering that harvest season is near, in the end of January 2018.

He also has asked Bulog to absorb grains as much as possible in February to April 2018 to maintain rice price. (Translator: Rina Alexandra)