Ministry insists on retaining rice import ban

Ministry insists on retaining rice import ban

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Minister of Agriculture Anton Apriyantono is insisting on
continuing the current ban on rice imports until later this year
in order to protect the domestic price of unhusked rice on
projections that the country would produce sufficient rice to
meet its own needs.

The ministry would propose maintaining the import ban policy
at the upcoming meeting with the Ministry of Trade and state-
owned commodity supply firm Perum Bulog, scheduled for later this
month.

"Despite natural disasters in some rice-producing areas here,
our rice production is likely to be sufficient and farmers are
now happy with the basic price of rice. Thus, I don't recommend
that the policy be revoked," Anton told The Jakarta Post.

Anton said unhusked rice production this year was estimated to
reach 53 million tons, more or less similar to last year. The
amount is equivalent to 32 million tons of husked rice, while
Indonesia's annual consumption is projected to be 31 million
tons.

The price of unhusked rice is currently at above the basic
price of Rp 1,330 per kilogram.

Anton's remarks came at a time when calls for the country to
import rice are on the rise in order to secure domestic supply,
with recent disasters in some parts of the country feared to
cause disruptions to supply.

Before the ban was applied last year, local rice farmers
complained over the low basic price of their product following
the flow of imported rice from India, Vietnam and Thailand, which
were all sold at cheaper prices.

The price slumped further following rampant rice smuggling.

The ban was introduced during the administration of president
Megawati Soekarnoputri on optimism that the country would be
self-sufficient in rice for the first time since the 1980s.

The government is only allowing imports of certain types of
rice, such as organically grown rice and Japanese rice.

Elsewhere, regarding the reemerge of cases of bird flu in some
part of the country, Anton said the ministry would closely
supervise illegal inflows of poultry products from bird flu-
stricken countries in the region.

"At present, there are no new cases of bird flu here, however,
we are still closely monitoring the containment efforts against
the disease, and at the same time being aware of smuggled poultry
products from countries affected by the disease," said Anton.

According to the World Health Organization, bird flu is an
infectious disease of birds caused by type A strains of the
influenza virus. Bird flu devastated the poultry industries of
numerous Asian countries last year.