Rice output to rise slightly

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's unhusked rice output is forecast to increase slightly to 48.66 million metric tons this year from 46.44 million tons in 1998 due to better harvests, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

The bureau also made predictions about several other crops, including corn, soybean, green bean, peanut, potato and cassava.

The country's corn production this year is forecast to reach 8.77 million tons, down 13.68 percent from 10.66 million tons last year.

Soybean production is set to drop 0.75 percent to 1.30 million tons this year from 1.31 million tons in 1998, while green bean production is predicted to fall 24.9 percent to 260,000 tons compared to 300,000 tons last year.

The country's peanut production is forecast to decline 4.76 percent to 660,000 tons this year from 690,000 tons in 1998. Sweet potato production is projected to reach 1.95 million tons, down 3.14 percent from 1.87 million tons last year.

However, cassava production is estimated to reach 14.74 million tons this year, a slight increase from 14.73 million tons in 1998.