Dispute over Grain Harvest

A fierce dispute over grain occurred at the beginning of this year’s harvest. The government will issue a new regulation concerning purchase prices to maintain a balance.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO (TOK)

Laborers from Ngawi harvest rice in Pelem Gadung Village, Karangmalang, Sragen, Central Java, Wednesday (1/3/2023).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – There was heavy competition for the purchase of grain and rice in several rice-production areas during the first harvest season this year. Large corporations came out on top and set the prices, leaving small-scale millers and the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) bereft.

During the early 2023 rice harvest, small millers, whether partnering with Bulog or not, were unable to immediately get access to grain as large corporations had picked up the grain from farmers at very high prices. This is just one example of what has been happening in a number of rice centers in West Java and Central Java over the last two weeks.