Half of Indonesia short of food (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

STRAITS TIMES
SEP 22 1998
Half of Indonesia short of food
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The Food Minister added that food shortages in 53 of 150 regencies are at
critical levels. Distribution to some islands have also been cut off
JAKARTA -- Indonesia yesterday said that half of the country has been hit
by
food shortages.
Food Minister A. M. Saefuddin told Parliament that 150 out of 308 regencies
were facing a food shortfall, and 53 of the 150 were facing a severe
shortage.
The shortfalls were in 25 of Indonesia's 27 provinces.
Mr Saefuddin said the government was taking several steps to combat the
problem, including increasing rice imports.
Outside the Parliament building, Indonesians protesting against high prices
of
essentials extorted motorists and disrupted traffic.
No confrontation with security officers was reported during the protest
which
lasted for about five hours, and parliamentary hearings were not disrupted.
Food prices have shot up in Indonesia over the past year due to a severe
drought, a crippling economic crisis that sparked a collapse in the rupiah,
and alleged hoarding and smuggling of food.
Rice now costs three times its price a year ago.
The food situation has been worsened by a fracturing of the distribution
network due to the unrest in Indonesia in recent months.
The official Antara news agency said yesterday that some 62,000 islanders
off
Sumatra face starvation if ferry links between the island and the mainland
are
not restored soon.
Antara says links between the island of Simeulue and the province of Aceh
have
been cut since Sept 15.
"Ferry services serving the route are damaged, causing the supply of basic
commodities to stop a few days ago," Mr Raswan Mariadi, a Simeulue
government
official, was quoted as saying.
He said Simeulue needed 6,200 tonnes of rice a month but supply had
dwindled
drastically and could last only two or three more days. Meanwhile, billions
of
rupiah's worth of voluntary contributions, raised by the public after an
appeal by the administration of former President Suharto, will be used to
buy
essential commodities for the poor.
The Finance Ministry said on Friday that the donations, in the form of
money,
gold and foreign exchange, will be returned to provincial administrations
to
provide basic needs for those living under poverty lines.
The Indonesian Observer on Friday said that until last month, the Ministry
had
channelled more than 17.5 billion rupiah (S$3.5 million) in both local and
foreign currency through regional branches of Bank Indonesia, the central
bank.
In a related report, Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Minister Adi Sasono
said last Friday that Central Java is the poorest province, with 33 per
cent
of its people living below the poverty level. -- Reuters