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Rice price ceiling raised amid higher production costs
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A farmer harvests rice with a machine in Renon, Denpasar, Bali, on March 9, 2023, as part of the Agriculture Ministry’s “great rice harvest from a million hectares of farms” , a nationwide campaign to boost domestic rice production. (Antara/Nyoman Hendra Wibowo)
T
he National Food Agency (NFA) announced on Wednesday that the government had decided to increase the price ceiling (HET) of rice to allow for higher production costs.
The latest increase will raise the price of the country’s medium and premium-quality rice to an average of Rp 11,400 (74 US cents) per kilogram and Rp 14,366 per kg, respectively.
This would mark around 8 and 15 percent price increases for medium and premium-quality rice, respectively, from the prevailing HET set in 2017.
Medium rice has lower quality than its premium counterparts with the latter deemed to have a better look, stronger taste and fewer imperfect grains, among other features.
NFA chairman Arief Prasetyo Adi said the agency would introduce new regulations stipulating the new HET to replace previous provisions outlined in Trade Ministry Regulation No. 57/2017.
“The President has requested an immediate adjustment of the HET and the government’s reference price [HPP],” he told reporters after a meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the State Palace in Jakarta.
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