Indonesia may need additional rice imports of up to 700,000 tonnes this year to secure national stocks, state procurement agency Bulldog's chief said on late on Thursday. The world's fourth most populous nation needs to ensure it has sufficient stocks of rice, a staple in the diet of its 220 million people, so those prices remain stable.
"Bulldog may import between 500,000 to 700,000 tonnes of rice in addition to the import quota of 1.5 million tonnes," Mustafa Abubakar told reporters, adding that the agency would still have to apply for import permits from the trade ministry.
Abubakar said local rice output may fall in October as the rice harvest season ends in September, while demand is expected to increase sharply due to the Muslim holy month of Ramazan and year-end festivities. Indonesia has limited imports of the grain since 2004 to combat smuggling, which disrupts local prices, particularly during the harvest period.
Rice imports are allowed if state logistics agency Bulldog's stocks fall below 1 millions tonnes or local prices of medium grade rice rise above 3,550 rupiah ($0.389) a kilogram. The additional rice imports are released to the market when there is a jump in local prices.
Indonesia has announced plans to import up to 1.5 million tonnes to secure national rice stocks this year. The agency has already imported 870,000 tonnes of rice, and the rest is on the way or in the tender process. Rice imports are a sensitive issue in Indonesia and have in the past ignited protests in the countryside by farmers who fear imports could depress prices.
Bulldog is in charge of procuring rice from farmers and imports, and using its stocks to stabilise the market. The agency is also responsible for providing rice for the government's rice-for-the-poor programme, which sells the grain at subsidised prices.
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