Bulog rice import contract differs from govt

Bulog rice import contract differs from govt

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Confusion reigns over rice imports, resumed recently to secure
national stocks and keep prices stable, with the trade ministry
and state logistics firm Bulog -- the executor of the policy --
providing conflicting data on the import volume allowed.

Bulog president director Widjanarko Puspoyo claimed last week
the company had signed a contract to import some 250,000 tons of
rice from Vietnam until Jan. 16 next year, and failing to comply
with it would risk hefty penalties.

The volume should spring a surprise with Minister of Trade
Mari E. Pangestu, who said last week that her ministry
"had only allowed Bulog to import up to 70,050 tons of rice."

So far, Bulog has distributed 68,900 tons of imported rice to
eight areas in the country, where rice stock were deemed to be
falling short.

The ministry announced that on Nov. 1, it had temporarily
lifted the ban on rice imports so as to avoid shortages and
rising prices for the commodity. It had previously banned imports
in order to protect local farmers.

Bulog then received a permit to import 70,050 tons of rice
from Vietnam under a government-to-government mechanism as stated
in a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The MOU was translated
into a ministerial letter and then a business contract was signed
by Bulog.

The MOU, claimed Widjanarko, stipulated that Vietnam could
provide up to 500,000 tons of rice until 2007 for Indonesia if
needed. The implementation of each batch of imports would have to
wait for a permit from the trade ministry.

Based on that, "We have been given a permit to import up to
250,000 tons," Widjanarko said, insisting that the firm would
keep importing from Vietnam until the 250,000 ton quota had been
met to avoid any penalty.

Mari, however, did not share Widjanarko's views, saying the
government would stick to the 70,050 ton figure, and that it
would make a review of rice stocks and prices at the end of
Novermber to determine whether to resume rice imports.