Tons of rice left untouched

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: Despite food shortages 10,000 metric tons of Japanese rice aid to Indonesia has been lying in warehouses for months awaiting a decision from Jakarta on a selling price, Antara said on Friday.

"We are still awaiting instructions from the National Logistics Agency (Bulog)," Antara quoted Lambanbatu, an official of the local Bulog branch office, as saying in the town of Kupang.

Lambanbatu said the rice arrived in Kupang "several months ago" and was of high quality, and "that is why we have to wait for instructions from Jakarta before we can distribute it."

He also said that apart from the price, Jakarta had also yet to determine where it should be distributed in the province.

Aid agencies have said that East Nusa Tenggara province, which encompasses West Timor and several other eastern islands, has been the hardest hit by food shortages because of a long drought in addition to the economic crisis.

Lumbanbatu also said that if the rice was priced too high, the government would not be able to sell it, and said the people of West Timor had urged that the rice aid be mixed with poorer quality stocks so that it could be sold more cheaply.