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.