JAKARTA, Sept 12 (NNN-ANTARA) – Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, said yesterday that, the country was eyeing rice imports from other Asian countries, such as China, India, Cambodia and Bangladesh, to meet the rising domestic demand.
Widodo said, during his visit to the warehouse of the country’s National Logistics Agency (Bulog), in Bogor, West Java province, that, the agency currently had no less than 1.6 million tonnes of rice in storage, which was enough for meeting the current needs.
However, he said, imports were still necessary to deal with the impact of El Nino this year, and to secure supplies for up to next year.
“This is also to ensure that we have reserves of stock to prevent an increase in prices, because production is expected to decline due to El Nino,” Widodo told reporters.
Regarding the import plan, Widodo said, he had talked about it with other Asian countries’ leaders during the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, last week.– NNN-ANTARA
