Amidst rising rice prices, the rice stock of the Indonesian state-owned logistics agency, Perum Bulog, has dwindled to below one million tons, raising concerns about rice supplies in the market. At the beginning of January 2018, Bulog's rice stock reached only 958,000 tons, the lowest level since 2011.
Perum Bulog's rice stock resilience has fluctuated year to year. In 2011, rice reserves were only 1.03 million tons, then increased to 2.32 million tons in 2012. After that, it steadily decreased to 1.32 million tons in 2015. Then, at the end of 2016, Bulog's rice reserves increased again to 1.62 million tons.
The dwindling Bulog reserves led the government to decide to import 500,000 tons of rice. Initially, rice imports were assigned to PT Perusahaan Perdagangan Indonesia (Persero) or PPI, but were ultimately handed over to Bulog.