Indonesia has asked Vietnam to delay shipping 182,000 tonnes of rice under a controversial 250,000 tonne deal, a Vietnamese food industry official said.
"They have asked to delay the shipment of the remaining quantity but did not give a reason," the official at the Vietnam Food Association told Reuters on Tuesday. She said Vietnam, the world's second-largest rice exporter after Thailand, had already delivered around 68,000 tonnes to Bulog, an Indonesian State agency
The deal sparked strong opposition from Indonesian lawmakers and farmers' groups who feared the imports would undermine the local rice industry. Bulog bought a first lot of 68,900 tonnes of 15 percent broken rice for November shipment under a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam that runs to January.
It will need to obtain additional permits to buy the remainder. Indonesia lifted a ban on rice imports in September and appointed Bulog to buy 250,000 tonnes under two conditions when domestic prices exceeded a ceiling price and/or if Bulog's stocks fell below 1 million tonnes.
The Vietnamese official said some of the rice had been loaded onto vessels at Saigon Port, but had not yet left for Indonesia. It would now have to be unloaded, though the two sides had not agreed who would cover the cost, she said.
Traders said a combined 20,150 tonnes of rice had been loaded onto two ships in Saigon last week for Indonesia, but shipment had been cancelled.