JAKARTA: The government has decided to add rice confiscated by customs and excise officers to national stock to meet the needs of low-income families ahead of Idul Fitri celebrations.
“This is the first time the policy has been made as a breakthrough to make use of seized rice,” the Finance Ministry’s customs and excise director general, Heru Pambudi, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Heru said seized rice usually piled up in the office’s warehouse and disintegrated. In future, a format would be made to distribute seized rice quicker because long procedures would lead to a decrease in quality.
He said the move was based on a discussion between Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel and Finance Minister Bambang Brojonegoro to make use of seized rice as national stock to be distributed to low-income families.
However, he said only rice that had a clear legal status could be added to national stock.
The decision was marked with the handing over of 110 tons of seized rice by the customs and excise office to the Trade Ministry to be delivered to the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) as national stock.
The rice was seized during a Riau Islands’ customs and excise office operation in the first half of 2015.
Heru said the move would be adopted nationwide.
He said during the first half of the year, customs and excise offices nationwide had seized some 2,000 tons of rice in total.
Meanwhile, the Trade Ministry’s inspector general, Karyanto Suprih, said the idea of adding seized rice to the national supply came about when Rachmat visited the Tanjung Balai Karimun Customs and Excise Office, Riau Islands, during which he saw piles of rice in the warehouse.
“The minister said such a thing should not happen and that the rice could be used as [part of] national stock,” Karyanto said.
Karyanto also said the policy was made not because of a crisis in national stock or limitations in importing rice. He said national stock currently stood at 1.5 million tons and would be sufficient for six months.
“The seized rice functions only as additional stock in the national reserve,” he said.
Separately, the director of information systems and state wealth management, Encep Sudarwan, said that based on the regulation on goods seized in a crime, the seized goods should be auctioned off and the proceeds deposited in the state treasury.
“For example, these 110 tons of rice worth Rp 200 million [US$15,384],” said Encep, adding that he could not remember the exact amount the state treasury received annually from the auctioning of seized rice.
