RI-flagged ships prioritized to carry rice

RI-flagged ships prioritized to carry rice

JAKARTA (JP): State Logistics Agency (Bulog) chairman Beddu
Amang promised that the agency would prioritize Indonesian-
flagged vessels to carry rice imports.

Beddu said the agency would soon coordinate with the
Indonesian National Shipowners Association (INSA) to implement
the plan.

"We really want most of our rice imports to be carried by
nationally flagged vessels," Beddu said Thursday on the sidelines
of a seminar on crude palm oil organized by the Yayasan Indonesia
Forum.

Beddu made the remarks in response to complaints by the INSA
that most rice imports were carried by foreign-flagged vessels.

INSA chairman Firdaus Wajdi said the shipment of imported rice
was controlled by affiliates of the Salim Group, the country's
biggest conglomerate, which prioritized foreign vessels based in
Hong Kong and Thailand.

Firdaus said the Salim Group had controlled the shipment of
rice imports for a long time. He suspected Bulog had given the
group the right to monopolize the shipments.

Beddu admitted that very few nationally flagged vessels were
being chartered by Bulog suppliers to carry rice imports because
they were difficult to find in the supplying countries or
neighboring countries.

He also denied the Salim Group had a monopoly over the
shipment of rice.

"The Salim Group is Bulog's rice supplier. We can arrange for
it to use nationally flagged ships," he said.

According to Beddu, the shipment of commodities imported by
Bulog was carried out on a "cost and freight" scheme in which
vessels were chartered by suppliers.

Suppliers

But Bulog could ask suppliers to prioritize the use of
Indonesian-flagged vessels which were docked in their countries
or neighboring countries, he said.

Beddu said to implement the plan of making most rice imports
be carried by nationally flagged vessels, Bulog would coordinate
with the INSA to match the schedule of rice imports to Indonesia
and the arrival schedule of Indonesian-flagged vessels in the
supplying countries or nearby.

"Through such measures, we can identify which nationally
flagged vessels arrive in or pass near the countries from which
we will import rice. We can then ask our suppliers to use those
ships," Beddu said.

Bulog will import 1.5 million tons of rice from Pakistan,
India, Vietnam and China for three months until March to add to
its existing stock of 1.5 million tons. The rice imports are
aimed at covering the shortfall caused by the adverse effects of
the El Nino weather phenomenon. (jsk)