RI gears up for rice imports

RI gears up for rice imports

JAKARTA (Dow Jones)--Indonesia is preparing to import between 1 million and 1.5 million metric tons of rice next year if the El Nino weather phenomenon affects domestic output, the state food logistics agency, Bulog, said Thursday.

This year's rice production is set to total 28.1 million tons, with 26 million tons in projected local consumption, Mulyo Sidik, a senior official at Bulog, told Dow Jones Newswires.

But domestic rice production is likely to decline around 5 percent next year amid concern that El Nino will cause a major drought in March or April, while at the same time consumption will rise, he said.

"Rice consumption next year will increase 1.5 percent-2.0 percent, and if El Nino comes, our stock isn't enough. Bulog will import to add to our stock," Sidik said.

Bulog's rice stocks are set to decline to 500,000 tons by the end of this year, from 1.9 million tons currently, Mulyo said.

Bulog has no plans to import rice this year.