RI barters for rice with Thailand and Cambodia

RI barters for rice with Thailand and Cambodia

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

While still struggling to clinch a barter deal to buy about
200,000 tons of rice from Thailand, Indonesia will also propose a
similar scheme to buy 50,000 tons of rice from Cambodia.

Speaking after a meeting with President Megawati
Soekarnoputri, head of State Logistics Agency (Bulog) Widjanarko
Puspoyo said in exchange Indonesia would offer aircraft, train
wagons and fertilizers to Cambodia.

He admitted however that there were not yet any technical
negotiations between Indonesia and Cambodia over the plan.

Indonesia is currently trying to buy about 200,000 tons of
rice worth US$40 million from Thailand through a barter scheme in
which Indonesia has initially offered aircraft, train wagons, and
fertilizers.

Officials of both countries met in Bangkok early this week,
but failed to reach an agreement.

Although the Bangkok meeting failed to bring results, Minister
of Industry and Trade Rini M. Soewandi said Indonesia was still
optimistic about finalizing the deal within the next few weeks.

Bulog plans to import one million tons of rice this year while
private companies are projected to import about two million tons.

However, Bulog's deputy head Andy Chaeruddin recently said the
agency might raise its imports to 1.6 tons if local output was
hit by abnormal weather.

Experts have warned that the El Nino weather phenomenon might
return to the country this year, which would cause drought and
ruin rice harvests.

Indonesia imported 1.5 million tons of rice in 2001.