Dion Bisara | August 27, 2012
Jakarta Globe
Siem Reap, Cambodia. Indonesia might import as much as 100,000 metric tons of milled rice from Cambodia as early as next year, in a move to better manage the country’s food security, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday.
“An agreement was reached on Saturday. The trade ministers will sign a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday evening,” the source said, referring to the ministers as Gita Wirjawan, Indonesia’s trade minister, and Cham Prasidh, the Cambodian minister of commerce. The memorandum would be in force for four years and could be automatically extended beyond that if there were no disputes.
Indonesia, home to more than 240 million people, could import up to 100,000 tons of rice from Cambodia each year from 2012 through 2016, and the import cap could be increased if needed. But it’s more likely that Indonesia will start importing from 2013, as Bulog, a state agency that deals with food distribution, is confident of domestic production this year, the source said.
Green Trade, a Cambodian state-owned company, will be in charge of the exports, working with the country’s rice export union, according to a final draft of the memorandum shown to the Jakarta Globe.
Bulog chief Sutarto Alimoeso has said on several occasions that the agency is seeking more nations from which to import rice, in order to better manage the price and reduce risks such as a yield shortfall in a producing country.
Mohamad Helmi, the business development director of Galuh Prabu Trijaya, an Indonesian trading company in Cambodia, welcomed the agreement. “We haven’t been able to export to Indonesia because there is no such legal umbrella,” he said.
Indonesia would benefit from lower prices compared to imported rice from Thailand and Vietnam, Helmi said.
Unmilled rice from Cambodia would be processed and exported to several countries, including Indonesia. “Our company can sell grade A rice [below 5 percent broken grain] significantly below Bulog’s procurement price, directly from here,” he said. Bulog’s procurement price is Rp 6,600 per kilogram for 2012.
Despite being the world’s third-largest rice producer with annual production of around 36 million tons of milled rice, Indonesia is among the biggest rice importers, with annual import averaging more than one million tons. Bulog, which is responsible for rice imports, typically buys the grain from Thailand, Vietnam and India.
Cambodia is expecting a rice surplus of 4.4 million tons of unhusked rice this year, equivalent to around 2.7 million tons of milled rice. However, the country’s milled rice exports have been limited by the lack of high-standard mills, forcing it to unhusk rice in neighboring countries. Cambodia is seeking to boost its milled rice exports to one million tons by 2015.
Jakarta Globe
Siem Reap, Cambodia. Indonesia might import as much as 100,000 metric tons of milled rice from Cambodia as early as next year, in a move to better manage the country’s food security, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday.
“An agreement was reached on Saturday. The trade ministers will sign a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday evening,” the source said, referring to the ministers as Gita Wirjawan, Indonesia’s trade minister, and Cham Prasidh, the Cambodian minister of commerce. The memorandum would be in force for four years and could be automatically extended beyond that if there were no disputes.
Indonesia, home to more than 240 million people, could import up to 100,000 tons of rice from Cambodia each year from 2012 through 2016, and the import cap could be increased if needed. But it’s more likely that Indonesia will start importing from 2013, as Bulog, a state agency that deals with food distribution, is confident of domestic production this year, the source said.
Green Trade, a Cambodian state-owned company, will be in charge of the exports, working with the country’s rice export union, according to a final draft of the memorandum shown to the Jakarta Globe.
Bulog chief Sutarto Alimoeso has said on several occasions that the agency is seeking more nations from which to import rice, in order to better manage the price and reduce risks such as a yield shortfall in a producing country.
Mohamad Helmi, the business development director of Galuh Prabu Trijaya, an Indonesian trading company in Cambodia, welcomed the agreement. “We haven’t been able to export to Indonesia because there is no such legal umbrella,” he said.
Indonesia would benefit from lower prices compared to imported rice from Thailand and Vietnam, Helmi said.
Unmilled rice from Cambodia would be processed and exported to several countries, including Indonesia. “Our company can sell grade A rice [below 5 percent broken grain] significantly below Bulog’s procurement price, directly from here,” he said. Bulog’s procurement price is Rp 6,600 per kilogram for 2012.
Despite being the world’s third-largest rice producer with annual production of around 36 million tons of milled rice, Indonesia is among the biggest rice importers, with annual import averaging more than one million tons. Bulog, which is responsible for rice imports, typically buys the grain from Thailand, Vietnam and India.
Cambodia is expecting a rice surplus of 4.4 million tons of unhusked rice this year, equivalent to around 2.7 million tons of milled rice. However, the country’s milled rice exports have been limited by the lack of high-standard mills, forcing it to unhusk rice in neighboring countries. Cambodia is seeking to boost its milled rice exports to one million tons by 2015.
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