Indonesia to import 2m tons of rice against impending drought

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Thursday said the country will import two million tons of rice by the end of this year to deal with the impending drought caused by El Nino.

Widodo, after planting rice in East Java province, said rice imports aim to keep the State Logistics Agency’s stockpiles and stabilise domestic prices because El Nino will cause a protracted drought and affect the country’s rice production.

Head of the National Food Agency, Arief Prasetyo, said the first batch of rice imports will be up to 500,000 tons and be sent as soon as feasible.

According to Prasetyo, the harvest of rice from March to May is a priority (for rice supply), but it will not be enough to meet the needs of a population of over 270 million.

The Southeast Asian country imported about 400,000 tons of rice in 2021 and 320,000 tons in 2022, according to Statistics Indonesia.