2011 rice imports to reach 1,5-2 million tons

@antaranewsANTARANEWS.COM

2011 rice imports to reach 1,5-2 million tons

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government has disclosed that it would import 1.5-2 million tons of rice this year to meet domestic rice stocks.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Bayu Krisnamurthi said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the government`s rice reserves in the storage facilities of the Logistics Bureau amounted to only 1.6 million tons.

"Unless it is increased, the end of the year will see a shortage of rice stocks," he said.

Especially that the rice harvest in the December-March period had been small and the government is not taking a risk of this situation.

Bayu said the government is still prioritizing domestic rice procurement to meet the national stock, but it appears it is still not enough to raise the supplies.

He said by the end of this year the domestic rice stock will reach 1.5 million tons, and quoting the second prediction of the National Statistics Agency (BPS) he added that this year`s domestic price production increased only by 2.4 pct below last year`s 5-6 pct target.

But he added that in the third prediction (Aram III) this year`s food production will reach 4-4.5 pct.

When asked when the rice imports will be carried out, the deputy agricultural minister refused to give the exact time.(*)

Editor: Heru