Please, No Unus Hoarding

 

By Yose Rizal

 

Martapura, (Antaranews South Kalimantan) - Secretary of Banjar District Government, Nasrun Shah, requested that there should not be hoarding rice mainly local varieties of Unus before the month of Ramadan.

"We ask no person to hoard rice especially  Unus before Ramadan and if found  an action will be taken according to rules and regulations," he stated in Martapura on Wednesday.

 

Unus is a typical rice popular among Banjarese, South Kalimantan, with a shape that is not a lot fluffier and grown in a rainfed agricultural areas, including in some areas in Banjar District.

 

Towards a national religious holiday, especially Ramadan, Unus rice price used to be high. "We have instructed the Trade and Industry Agency (Disperindag) and other relevant agencies to monitor the availability and price movements of Unus rice in the market, so people do not trouble to get it," he said.

 

On the other hand, he urged people to change the dependency to consume rice to supply the body with energy in other foods that also have a source of energy and nutrition, such as potatoes, corn and fruit.

 

Head of Banjar Food Security Office Fahruraji said, Unus derived from rice farming areas in Banjar some are sent by distributor to Java as a base for the manufacture of vermicelli. "It is to be one of the causes of the rising price of rice in addition demand Unus much ahead of Ramadan, while the inventory is reduced because it has not entered the harvest," he said.

 

Meanwhile Disperindag report said rice prices at a wholesaler or retail level was normal in the range of Rp7,000 to Rp8.500 per liter.