Japanese rice in good condition, says Rahardi

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Industry and Trade Rahardi Ramelan has denied reports that 500,000 metric tons of rice sent here by the Japanese government is rotting in warehouses.

Speaking on Monday, Rahardi, who is also chairman of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), admitted that the government had only distributed a fraction of the Japanese rice.

"As of December 1998, the sales of Japanese rice reached 7,158 tons. The distribution of Japanese rice is expected to continue to increase from December 1998 up to February 1999," Rahardi told a news conference called to counter criticism in the Japanese press.

Rahardi said the rice was being stored in Bulog warehouses throughout the country and was in good condition.

The government began selling the Japanese rice in November through various market operations. The rice was being sold at Rp 2,750 per kilogram for rice milled in Indonesia and Rp 2,900 per kilogram for rice milled in Japan, Rahardi said.

He said that Bulog had so far milled 55,000 tons of unhusked Japanese rice, adding that the rice was of high quality.

Rahardi said the Japanese government provided 400,000 tons of unhusked rice and 100,000 tons of milled rice. In all, 600,000 metric tons of rice were pledged in June last year, with the remaining 100,000 tons to be distributed through the World Food Program and several non-governmental organizations.

Rice supplied directly to the government must be repaid in rice at a later date.

"We feel it is necessary to correct recent reports in the Japanese media relating to the whereabouts of Japanese rice supplied to Indonesia," Rahardi said.

Last week, the Japanese Yomiuri Shimbun daily reported that a major part of the 500,000 tons of rice sent to Indonesia between the end of July and the end of December had been languishing in ill-equipped warehouses throughout the country for more than four months.

The report said that Indonesia did not have the capacity to mill the unhusked rice, which accounted for 80 percent of the entire consignment.

As a result, the quality of rice left in storage has deteriorated, the report said.

The newspaper alleged that only 10,000 tons of the rice had been distributed, mainly in Irian Jaya and East Java.

Rahardi insisted that the rice had been sent all over Indonesia, with milled rice going to Dumai, Padang, Balikpapan, Sorong, Jayapura and Kupang, and the unhusked rice to Lhokseumawe, Medan, Lampung, Jakarta, Cirebon, Semarang, Surabaya and Ujungpandang.

Japan's Foreign Ministry was quoted by Reuters as saying that the Japanese government hoped Indonesia would make efficient use of the rice to help relieve severe food shortages in the crisis- hit country.

A ministry official said that more than 300,000 tons of the consignment was shipped unhusked, adding that Indonesia had agreed to this and had insisted that its rice mills would be able to cope with the increased supply.

"In December, the Japanese government asked Indonesia to use the rice efficiently...We hope they make good use of the rice we have sent, but it's up to them to decide how to manage the shipments," he said.

Kompas reported on Monday that the Japanese government had sent a special team consisting of government officials and private consultants to establish how the rice had been distributed.

The Japanese embassy in Jakarta has also been instructed to investigate the matter.

A drop in domestic production forced Bulog to import 4.6 million tons of rice in 1998.

Over 25 percent of the imports were secured through overseas aid, with the remainder purchased on the open market. (gis)