HANOI: Vietnam and Thailand will be the two main rice suppliers for Indonesia’s upcoming purchase of 1.5 million tonnes of rice.
Indonesia’s Acting Agriculture Minister Arief Prasetyo Adi confirmed the information to the Indonesian press after Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s announcement last Sunday that the country would need an additional 1.5 million tonnes of rice for its national reserves from now until the end of the year, beyond the two million tonnes of rice reserves imported since the beginning of the year until now.
All necessary licences for the import of 1.5 million tonnes of rice had been issued by the relevant Indonesian authorities and the import would be carried out from the end of this month.
The fact that Indonesia has chosen Vietnam as the main supplier for its rice purchases further affirms the position and reputation of the quality of Vietnamese rice.
Vietnam’s rice supply is always a reputable source, winning the trust of the Indonesian government and consumers with Indonesia facing a shortage of domestically produced food output due to the impact of the El Nino weather phenomenon.
The Indonesian government will also increase imports as a solution to curb price hikes of food, especially corn, sugar, and rice, President Joko Widodo stated at a cabinet meeting yesterday.
Talking to the media after the meeting, Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said the prices of sugar and corn were also gradually increasing due to the current global geopolitical and weather situation.
He said that Indonesia would import 250,000 tonnes of corn for the animal feed industry while it would wait for prices to decrease before deciding to import sugar.
Sugar importers only registered to import about 30% of the total allocated sugar import quota, he added.
The Vietnam Trade Office in Indonesia recommends that to make the most of this opportunity, Vietnamese rice exporters should pay attention to the previous guidance of the Industry and Trade Ministry on exporting rice to the Indonesian market.
Accordingly, rice export traders should actively monitor the market situation, fully evaluating opportunities and risks to develop a transaction plan.
Traders should sign appropriate contracts, ensuring export efficiency and contributing to the consumption of all rice products for farmers at favourable prices. — Viet Nam News/ANN
