Indonesia sees higher unmilled rice output in 2011 and a bigger surplus of the staple food as it expands production areas, government officials said on Friday. Despite the improving outlook, analysts still see Southeast Asia's largest economy entering the rice import market again this year, as it may look to boost stockpiles to keep inflation at bay.
Unmilled rice production is seen at 68.06 million tonnes in 2011, 2.4 percent higher than last year and up slightly from a forecast earlier this year for 67.31 million in 2011, the statistics bureau said on Friday. The statistics bureau said there are more harvest areas this year, at 313,150 hectares or up 2.4 percent versus the previous year. "It's a bit surprising, the number," said Ker Chung Yang, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore. "Rice production in Indonesia, I didn't expect it to come above the (first) estimation, and it will surprise the market."
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