Indonesia to swap planes for Thai sugar, rice

Indonesia to swap planes for Thai sugar, rice

Indonesia is planning to swap aeroplanes for rice and sugar from Thailand in a bid to meet rising local demand for the commodities, an official from the state food agency Bulog said on Wednesday.

"Indonesia is in talks with Thailand to have a swap trade for sugar and rice with aeroplanes," Bulog chief Widjarnarko Puspojo told reporters.

"The swap is needed to overcome a lack of domestic supply for the commodities," he added.

He did not say what kind of aircraft would be used in the deal, or the volumes of rice and sugar .

A similar plan was mooted in 1999 by former President B.J. Habibie who sought to swap CN-235 aircraft for glutinous rice from Thailand.

But the plan was shelved amid strong opposition from the parliament.

The turbo propeller CN-235s were engineered by state-owned plane manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia, once headed by Habibie.

Indonesia imported about 1.2 million tonnes of sugar and 2.5 million of rice last year through private traders. -- Reuters