Indonesian state purchasing agency Bulog is believed to have purchased around 210,000 metric tons of rice in an international tender for up to 300,000 tons, which closed this week, according to European traders. The rice is expected to be mainly sourced from Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Myanmar.
The precise volume purchased is still unclear, but traders said offers for 90,000 tons of rice from Thailand were rejected as too expensive. The lowest price awarded was estimated at $563.00 per ton cost and freight (c&f) for 60,000 tons from Vietnam or Cambodia.
This latest tender is part of Indonesia’s efforts to boost rice imports to cool domestic prices, which have risen sharply after the El Nino weather phenomenon cut rainfall in 2023, reducing output of the staple and adding to food inflation. Bulog had previously said it had imported 1.2 million tons of rice so far in 2024 to stabilize domestic prices.
According to traders, the price difference between rice from Thailand and Vietnam in the tender was significant, with Vietnam offering more aggressively low prices. It is possible that Bulog will return with another tender for the 90,000 tons of Thai rice that was not purchased.
Other purchases in the tender from Vietnamese trading houses ranged between $564.50 and $582.00 per ton c&f, while the rejected offers of Thai rice were between $649.00 and $658.50 per ton c&f. Bulog also purchased two 30,000-ton consignments of rice sourced from Pakistan or Myanmar at $621.50 and $629.00 per ton c&f.
The latest tender reflects Indonesia’s ongoing efforts to secure sufficient rice supplies to meet domestic demand and stabilize prices, with a focus on sourcing the commodity from Southeast Asian and South Asian countries.