Indonesia may need to import an unspecified amount of rice to boost domestic stocks and shield consumers from higher prices as crop-unfriendly weather strikes the United States and China, a trade ministry official said on Thursday. US grain prices have shot up in recent weeks as the worst drought in 56 years harms crops in the main growing area, while China has been hit by excessive rains and lower-than-normal temperatures.
"The Indonesian government has to decide on rice imports as soon as possible," Deputy Trade Minister Bayu Krisnamurti told Reuters. "We have to strengthen our rice stocks to anticipate the global situation getting worse." "There are floods in China and droughts in the US, which may affect global food supply," he said.
Last year Indonesia imported 1.9 million tonnes of rice, mostly from Thailand and Vietnam. "It is very important to anticipate current global weather conditions, which are not conducive to global food availability," Krisnamurti said. "We have to decide immediately which way to be taken - boosting domestic rice procurement or importing it."
Indonesian officials in July said they expected unmilled rice output to rise 4.3 percent from a year ago to 68.59 million tonnes this year which would leave it with a surplus of 5.5 million tonnes, potentially curbing the need for imports. Bulog, the national rice procurement agency, said stock levels were at 2.4 million tonnes at the end of the first half of this year. Bulog usually maintains rice stocks of between 1.5 million and 2 million tonnes, to guard against possible food inflation.
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