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Govt turns down Malaysian request to buy Indonesian rice
Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said Indonesia cannot export rice to Malaysia to maintain domestic rice stocks.
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Shouldering the weight: A worker carries rice sacks at a warehouse of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) in Talumolo village, Gorontalo city, Gorontalo, on March 3, 2024.
(Antara/Adiwinata Solihin)
T
he government has turned down a request for rice from Malaysia, with Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman explaining that Indonesia cannot export the grain at this time as it seeks to maintain domestic reserves.
Amran said Kuala Lumpur had requested to import rice from Indonesia due to insufficient supply that had pushed up prices in Malaysia.
“It was interesting, [Malaysia] asked earlier whether [they] could import rice from Indonesia,” he said during a press conference after a meeting with Malaysian Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Bin Sabu in Jakarta on Tuesday, Bisnis reported.
“I said, for the time being, we will maintain the [domestic] stocks. We will assess the climate [conditions first],” he said.
The government’s rice reserve stocks (CBP) at the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) currently stand at 3.3 million tonnes, the minister said, adding that the target was to increase the level to 4 million tonnes in May.
A shortage of supply had driven prices up in Malaysia, Amran said, explaining that the country could only meet around 40 to 50 percent of national demand.
Mohamad Bin Sabu said that, though there was no official directive to import rice from Indonesia, the ministry would discuss the plan further.
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