RI aid program under review

RI aid program under review

WASHINGTON (Reuters): The U.S. Agriculture Department has not yet made a final decision on whether to offer a PL480 program to help financially-troubled Indonesia buy U.S. agricultural goods, a USDA official said Monday.

"We're hopeful that we can come together on a decision for that soon," Lon Hatamiya, administrator of USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service told Reuters. "We're leaning towards one," but "it's not quite a certainty."

USDA officials first raised the possibility of a title I PL480 program for Indonesia after a trip to Southeast Asia in January to assess the region's financial woes.

At the time, U.S. grain industry sources said they expected any PL480 program for Indonesia would be for wheat.

But Hatamiya said Monday the biggest issue regarding a PL480 program for Indonesia is "how best to utilize it. We're looking at what is the best make up of commodities."

Under title I of the PL480 program, USDA extends long-term, low-interest loans to help developing countries buy U.S. agricultural goods.