Rice Prices Rise, Central Kalimantan Records the Highest Rice Price Nationally (September 7, 2022)

National rice prices have been creeping up since last August. According to a report from the National Strategic Food Price Information Center, the national rice price in traditional markets reached Rp11,950 per kilogram in the last week.

Central Kalimantan recorded the highest national rice price as of September 7, 2022, reaching Rp14,900 per kilogram. This was followed by West Sumatra at Rp13,850 per kilogram. Jakarta and South Kalimantan both had rice prices of Rp13,650 per kilogram.

North Kalimantan and West Kalimantan had the next highest prices at Rp13,400 and Rp13,250 per kilogram, respectively. Meanwhile, the lowest national rice price as of September 7, 2022, was in West Sulawesi at Rp9,850 per kilogram.

Perum Bulog (Indonesia's state-owned food logistics agency) stated it will release its rice reserves in response to the rising prices since last month.

"We will release a massive supply," said Bulog's Corporate Secretary, Awaluddin Iqbal, as quoted by *Republika.co.id* on Wednesday, September 7, 2022.

Awaluddin said that the current volume of government rice reserves (CBP) in warehouses is almost 1 million tons. This supply is sufficient to stabilize rice prices in the market.

Based on Bulog's data, the realization of rice market operations from January 1 to September 6, 2022, has reached approximately 500,000 tons. "Our target this year is more than 1 million tons, so there's still a significant amount of rice that we need to distribute," said Awaluddin.

In addition to releasing rice reserves, Perum Bulog has also conducted rice market operations to anticipate potential price increases. This step is considered effective in securing rice prices throughout the year.