Australia considers food aid package for Indonesia

Australia considers food aid package for Indonesia

CANBERRA (Reuters): Australia will hold negotiations with Indonesia on an emergency food aid program aimed at averting riots over food shortages and soaring prices, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday.

Downer said government aid agency AusAID was assessing the situation in Indonesia and director-general Trevor Kanaley had been told to start negotiations in Jakarta later this week on the supply of emergency food aid.

"Clearly in an environment where food prices are increasing very dramatically and people are losing their jobs in Indonesia, that is a fairly heady brew," he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.

"We want to make sure that the international community does what it can to help Indonesia in that difficult environment."

He added: "One of the issues that he (Kanaley) will be looking at is the question of food aid, the extent to which there are food shortages in Indonesia brought about by the economic crisis and whether there's anything Australia can do to help coordinate an international effort to deal with that problem."

Indonesia is suffering from its worst economic crisis in decades, with the collapse of the rupiah currency and serious drought causing food prices and unemployment to soar.

Riots over food price rises have erupted in recent weeks, with ethnic Chinese who control most of the country's commerce being targeted.

The crisis has also prompted Australia to review its strategic policies, which are based on an economically booming Asia and a stable Indonesia acting as a buffer to Australia's north.

Prime Minister John Howard and the defense forces chief, General John Baker, both said last week they were concerned about Indonesia's ability to cope with its internal problems.