BPS: Increasing Grain Prices Need to Be Cautious

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta - Head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Suhariyanto said the relevant parties need to be aware of the increase in the price of dry unhulled rice at the farmer level in August 2018.

In a press conference in Jakarta, Monday (3/9/2018) Suhariyanto explained that the increase in the price of dried rice harvest showed that the stock or harvest in the area began to decrease.

Suhariyanto explained that according to BPS records there was an increase in grain prices in Lampung by 7 percent, Central Java 8.7 percent, and Banten 14.09 percent.

"So, this stock indicates that the harvest is indeed reduced in various production areas," he said.

BPS noted that the average price of harvested dry grain (GKP) at the farm level was Rp. 4,774 per kilogram in August 2018 or up 3.05 percent compared to the previous month.

On the contrary, continued Suhariyanto, the price of rice in milling generally shows a decline. The average price of medium-quality rice in mills is Rp. 9,172 per kilogram or down by 0.28 percent (August 2018 to July 2018).

"We actually have tracked this. It could happen that when it was milled there was an old stock. So the dry grain harvest did not immediately enter the mill at the time, there was a different time lag between regions," he said.