Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – A total of 151,000 tons of imported corn will soon enter Indonesia. This volume is part of the import quota of 250,000 tons which was decided by the government in October 2023.

Today, Wednesday (15/11/2023) 20,000 tonnes of the quota has arrived at Teluk Lamong Port, Surabaya. The unloading of imported corn was witnessed directly by the Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi.

As is known, the government assigned Perum Bulog to import corn to fill government corn reserves (CJP). This import decision responds to complaints from chicken farmers and independent laying hen breeders regarding the high price of corn.

The spike in corn prices then had an impact on increasing domestic production of chicken meat and purebred chicken eggs.

The Food Agency’s Price Panel shows that today’s corn price fell by IDR 60 to IDR 7,180 per kg. This is the national average daily price at the farmer level. At the farmer/producer level, today the price also fell by IDR 10 to IDR 5,590 per kg.

This price is far above the reference price for corn set by the government, namely IDR 4,200 per kg of dry shelled with 15% moisture content at the producer level and IDR 5,000 per kg at the consumer level.

“A total of 20,000 tons of corn have finally arrived. This is part of the 171,000 tons that are gradually coming in to meet the feed needs of independent farmers in chicken and egg production centers,” said Arief in an official statement.

He said that the imported corn would then be immediately distributed to small independent farmers according to verification of data received from the Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health, Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan).

“So we have coordinated the data by name by address of the breeders with the Ministry of Agriculture and with that the distribution process will soon be carried out by Bulog. So this animal feed will certainly really help breeders to continue producing and maintain the price of chicken meat and chicken eggs downstream,” said Arief.

As is known, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) approved corn imports to fill government corn reserves (CJP) for independent farmers at a Limited Meeting on October 9 2023 concerning Corn and Sugar Price Stabilization.

Bapanas then assigned Bulog to import corn with a quota of 250,000 tons. There will be 171,000 tons coming in in stages and will be distributed directly to breeders in central areas such as East Java and Lampung.

“We carry out measured imports. Therefore, the income is carried out in stages, taking into account that the price of corn at the farmer level is maintained. At the same time, livestock farmers also have no difficulty getting a supply of feed corn,” stressed Arief.

“Domestic production continues to be a priority in absorbing farmers’ corn. So during the corn harvest next March, the drying silos in Bulog can absorb farmers’ production well,” he said.

Waiting for the Breeder

Meanwhile, in a statement released by Bapanas, Chairman of the National Laying Pinsar Presidium (PPN) Yudianto Yosgiarso said that the current high feed prices are burdening farmers.

With the influx of imported corn, he said, farmers will be helped, they can return to running their businesses smoothly to support national food security and maintain the stability of egg supply and prices.

“Furthermore, the arrival of the initial stage of 20,000 tons of imported corn, all of us farmers agreed to allocate it first to MSME scale breeders who really need a supply of corn at this time. Starting from East Java, Central Java, and if possible Lampung,” he added.

“Only after the arrival of corn did we agree to distribute it to all layer farmers in Java, Bali, Sumatra and Kalimantan. Efforts to procure imported corn at this time really help farmers’ difficulties in finding and buying corn,” said Yudianto.

Karman, Chairman of the Blitar Prosperous Poultry Breeders Cooperative, added that the influx of imported corn was awaited by farmers.

“We really hope for the arrival of this corn because we have wanted this corn for a long time, at a price of 5 thousand per kg. Because feed corn contributes 50-55% to the production cost component. So if corn is expensive we will shout first,” said Karman.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(dce/dce)