Indonesian state purchasing agency Bulog has announced an international tender to acquire approximately 320,000 metric tons of rice, according to European traders on Monday. The deadline for submitting price offers is set for July 31, after which Bulog will initiate price negotiations that may take several days.
If domestic harvests fall short, Indonesia could import up to 4.3 million tons of rice this year, as stated by the secretary of the National Food Agency. So far, the country has imported 2.22 million tons of rice between January and May and currently plans to import a total of 3.6 million tons in 2024.
Indonesia’s statistics agency has projected that rice output from January to August will be 9.52% lower than the same period in 2023. Rice is a staple food for most of Indonesia’s 270 million residents, and domestic prices rose nearly 12% in June compared to the previous year due to adverse weather conditions affecting crops.
In this new international tender, Bulog is specifically seeking white rice with a 5% broken grade from the 2024 crop year, which must be milled no longer than six months ago. The rice can be sourced from Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Pakistan, with expected arrival in Indonesia between August and September 2024.
This tender follows a series of significant international purchases made by the Indonesian government earlier this year to increase rice imports and stabilize prices after a poor local crop. In its last reported international rice tender on May 22, Bulog purchased around 210,000 tons, primarily from Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Myanmar.