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RI considers importing rice from Pakistan
The government will soon sign a rice import deal with Pakistan to secure a food supply for Indonesians after its earlier plan to import the staple from Vietnam and Thailand failed when the Philippines bought out the commodity from them beforehand
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The government will soon sign a rice import deal with Pakistan to secure a food supply for Indonesians after its earlier plan to import the staple from Vietnam and Thailand failed when the Philippines bought out the commodity from them beforehand.
Trade Minister Thomas Trikasih Lembong said during this week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders meeting in Manila that his ministry had been trying to accelerate discussions with Pakistan's Trade Ministry to formulate a legal framework for rice imports.
'So far, we're still 'chasing' Pakistan's trade minister to immediately sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU),' he said.
He went on to say that once an agreement was reached with Pakistan, Indonesia would send a team from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to verify Pakistan's rice supply.
According to Thomas, Pakistan has previously stated that it could potentially supply 500,000 tons of rice to Indonesia. The supply, however, would probably just enter into the Indonesia's market next year as there were only six weeks left before the end of this year, while negotiations were still ongoing, he added.
Bulog's rice reserves stood at between 1.3 and 1.4 million tons as of Oct. 25, which was estimated to meet only half of the country's monthly consumption of 2.5 million tons. The situation has sent a signal that there is an insufficient supply to meet the growing domestic demand for the staple food.
The government had previously announced it planned to import a total of 1.5 million tons of rice from Thailand and Vietnam this year, with around 1 million tons already secured.
The country was, however, overtaken by the Philippines, which bought the 1.5 million tons of rice from the two rice producers. The Philippines' import figures are far higher than its normal annual imports of between 500,000 and 700,000 tons.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla said in front of business leaders at the APEC summit that importing rice this year was inevitable for Indonesia because its domestic production has slumped because of the El Niño weather phenomenon.
El Niño could lead to severe droughts, floods and fluctuating crop yields in the Pacific equatorial region, including Indonesia.
'But for next year, if the weather is good, I think we will not import more rice,' Jusuf said.
Meanwhile, Thomas said the government would be more closely monitoring national rice supply and demand next year to prevent soaring prices caused by an insufficient supply within the domestic market.
He said that his ministry would start formulating annual import plans for essential food commodities, such as beef, sugar and rice.
'Secondly, we will develop market intelligence that will review possibilities to find international sources of rice, even if [it has to be] Brazil. Bulog has also previously attempted to include Myanmar and Cambodia,' he said.
An insufficient supply of rice in the country has caused soaring prices, which are expected to hit low-income people hard, as about 60 percent of their cost of living will be taken up by food.
Average price of medium-quality rice hit Rp 10,536 (76 US cents) per kilogram (kg), far higher than its normal price of Rp 8,500 per kg, according to data from the Trade Ministry.
