Thailand ask RI to lift rice ban

Thailand ask RI to lift rice ban

Bloomberg/Bangkok

Thailand will ask the Indonesian government to lift its ban on rice imports, noting the policy will have a strongly negative impact on Thailand's rice export target for this year, Thai Commerce Minister Thanong Bidaya said on Monday.

"We have to urgently resolve this problem to prevent it (the ban) from affecting our export target for this year," Thanong said.

Thailand, the world's largest rice exporter, is targeting this year to export 8.5 million metric tons of rice.

Indonesia has decided to extend its rice import ban until the end of this year from June 30 because domestic rice stocks are still sufficient.

The Indonesian government initially imposed the ban from January 2004 to July 2004, then extended it in August of that year until the end of 2004, due to expectations of robust domestic output. In December 2004, the government extended the ban to June 2005, due to official assessments of sufficient stocks and a good rice harvest.

Indonesia was among the main buyers of Thai rice before implementing the import ban policy. In 2003, Indonesia imported 763,690 tons of rice from Thailand but purchased only 155,739 tons from the country in 2004.

Thanong said Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will discuss the issue of Indonesia's rice import ban policy along with other economic and political issues with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when the two meet in Bangkok on Friday.

"We have studied (the market situation) and found that Indonesia's rice stocks have declined. So why does the Indonesian government continue to maintain the ban?" said Thanong.

According to Indonesia's Minister of Agriculture, Anton Apriyantono, the rice import ban policy will be reviewed at the end of the year, to see whether it will be extended again.