Indonesia has accepted rice imports from Vietnam and Thailand.

A Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Jakarta quoted the Jakarta Post on October 22 as saying that President Joko Widodo has finally agreed to import rice from Vietnam and Thailand to ensure rice supply for the domestic market and maintain stable rice prices.

Illustrative photo: Van Tri/VNA)

This statement was made by the President on October 21 at the 30th Trade Expo Indonesia 2015 in Jakarta and this is the first time he confirmed that Indonesia will import rice from abroad.

Previously, the President has repeatedly affirmed that although Indonesia's rice production this year is lower than expected, it is still enough to meet demand and the island nation will become self-sufficient in rice earlier than planned in 2017.

With a population of 250 million people and a habit of using rice as a staple food, rice is an essential and very important commodity for this country with the fourth largest population in the world.

According to the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture, this year's long dry season combined with the impact of El Nino has caused 200,000 hectares of rice to lack water, of which 30,000 hectares were completely lost. This makes it impossible for the country's rice output this year to reach the 75.5 million tons previously estimated by the Indonesian National Statistics Bureau.

Indonesia has been negotiating with major rice producers in the region about the possibility of backup imports, with Vietnam agreeing to supply 1 million tons of rice while Thailand has not yet given a specific figure. However, Indonesia has not confirmed the amount of rice imported from Vietnam because it is still considering many factors, including weather developments that could change previous predictions about the extent of crop failure.

Previously, at the end of September, BULOG director Djarot Kusumayakti said that the amount of rice in stock as of December 2015 was expected to reach only about 62,000 tons, while it was necessary to reserve 1.5-2 million tons to meet demand before the new harvest in early 2016./.

According to Vietnam+