JAKARTA: Indonesia may need 400,000 tonnes of rice imports early next year and up to 500,000 tonnes of sugar imports in 2012, the country's deputy trade minister said on Friday.
Bayu Krisnamurthi said the country, which surprised markets with the volume of its rice buying this year, needed 2 million tonnes of imports of the staple grain for 2011-2012. The state procurement agency has already used permits to import 1.6 million tonnes and said last week no further imports were planned this year.
"Our rice import prospects in 2011-2012 are 2 million tonnes. Hopefully it will not be more than that," Krisnamurthi said.
Indonesia sometimes imports rice before its local harvest starts in the second quarter, and regularly needs sugar imports.
"In 2012 we may have a white sugar shortage of between 300,000 tonnes to 500,000 tonnes," Krisnamurthi said. "However we haven't decided yet on the form of imports, whether white sugar or raw sugar."
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