I'nesia may review rice imports as stocks rise
Indonesia's National Logistics Agency (Bulog) may reconsider its plan to import more rice after a significant increase in the agency's rice stocks in the first five months of the year.
Bulog director Mustafa Abu Bakar last Friday said the agency had managed to procure 1.1 million tonnes of rice through cooperatives and farmers as of last Thursday.That exceeded the agency's target stock of 900,000 tonnes for the five-month period. "With this latest development, we hope to be able to raise this year's target to 2 million tonnes of rice, from the original 1.5 million tonnes," he was quoted as saying by Antara News Agency. Earlier this year, Bulog said it expected to stockpile 900,000 tonnes of rice in its storehouses in the first five months and the remaining 600,000 tonnes over the rest of the year. The Trade Ministry had agreed to import 1.5 million tonnes of Vietnamese and Thai rice early this year. Bulog is required to secure 1 million tonnes of rice each year to serve as a buffer stock for Indonesia's more than 200 million people.
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