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.