Latest News

Indonesia offers to buy rice worth 500,000 t, traders claim

European traders reported on Thursday that the Indonesian state purchasing agent Bulog had issued an international bid to purchase an estimated 500,000 tons of rice.

They said the deadline for price proposals is Nov. 1. Price negotiations are expected to continue for several days until a final decision.

Bulog cancelled an earlier tender for 340,000 tonnes of rice, traders reported on Thursday.

In November and December, rice is needed in Indonesia. The rice can come from Thailand, Cambodia or Vietnam.

The tender is part of Indonesia's extensive purchases of rice on global markets in order to cool down domestic prices following a disappointing harvest.

The country's Statistics Bureau estimates that Indonesia's rice production in 2024 will be 30.34 millions metric tons. This is down by 2.43% compared to last year.

The production decline in January-April was nearly 15% less than in 2023.

Indonesia plans to import 3.6 million tonnes of rice to boost the supply this year. In 2025, the country plans to increase its planted area by a large amount.

Bulog wants white rice that is 5% broken grade and milled no more than six months old from the 2024 crop, traders say. Michael Hogan, reporting and David Goodman, editing.

(source: Reuters)