[Kabar-indonesia] 2 Reuters Exclusives: Indonesia will not import more rice this year [+Sugar]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

Exclusive - Indonesia may slap import duty on raw sugar

Exclusive - Indonesia will not import more rice this year

SINGAPORE, September 25 (Reuters) - Indonesia will not need to import
more rice this year as the recent purchases by its state buying agency
are expected to meet local needs and push down prices, the country's
farm minister said on Monday.

"We will not be needing more rice this year," Anton Apriyantono told
Reuters in a telephone interview. "The recent purchases by Bulog
should be enough."

Bulog has recently signed deals with three trading houses from Vietnam
to buy 210,000 tonnes of rice in a move to shore up government stocks
depleted by a string of natural disasters. -end-

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Exclusive - Indonesia may slap import duty on raw sugar

By Sambit Mohanty

SINGAPORE, September 25 (Reuters) - Indonesia is considering imposing
an import duty on raw sugar as recent purchases of the sweetener had
helped domestic prices to ease, the country's agriculture minister
said on Monday.

Anton Apriyantono added that while Indonesia is unlikely to be in the
market this year for more rice imports, the country is seeing its palm
oil production surging and would soon overtake Malaysia as the world's
leading palm oil producer.

"The price of raw sugar is already low now. A decision on import duty
is expected to come out in the beginning of October," Apriyantono told
Reuters in a telephone interview.

Currently, raw sugar imports to Indonesia are allowed free of duty.
Apriyantono declined to give the exact amount of duty Jakarta was
planning to impose on raw sugar imports.

The news of a possible import duty comes at a time when the world
price of raw sugar has fallen to its lowest level in a year on
commodity fund sales and worsening market fundamentals.

On Friday, the New York Board of Trade's October raw sugar contract
 slid 1.10 cents, or 9.5 percent, to finish at 10.46 cents per lb. Sugar 
had rallied in February to 25-year highs of 19.73 cents on fund buying.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest sugar consumer, has been stepping
up purchases to ensure adequate supplies during the Muslim fasting
month of Ramadan starting this month.

The country is expected to produce about 2.48 million tonnes of white
sugar this year, up from 2.24 million tonnes in 2005.

"There is no need for a lot more raw sugar to come in now to
Indonesia. The stock levels have reached a level in the country where
we should be comfortable," the minister said.

RICE, PALM OIL

On grains, Apriyantono said Indonesia won't be in the market to import
more rice this year as the recent purchases by Bulog, Indonesia's
state-run buying agency, would meet local needs and push down domestic
prices.

Bulog recently signed deals with three trading houses from Vietnam to
buy 210,000 tonnes of rice in a move to shore up government stocks
depleted by a string of natural disasters.

"The recent purchases by Bulog should be enough," he said. "At the
same time, our rice production will also be higher. That should take
care of the domestic needs."

Apriyantono said Indonesia's unmilled rice output would rise by 1.1
percent to 54.75 million tonnes rice this year, from 54.15 million
tonnes in 2005.

Local prices for medium grade rice at the distributor level are
currently around 4,000 rupiah a kg.

Rice imports are a sensitive issue in Indonesia and the government's
decision to import the main staple through Bulog has triggered a spate
of protests in the countryside by farmers who fear imports could
depress prices.

On the country's palm oil outlook, Apriyantono said palm oil exports
would rise this year and next year on the back of surging demand for
biodiesel, but he declined to give a projection for overseas sales.

But Derom Dangun, executive chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil
Association told Reuters during the weekend that Indonesia's palm oil
exports would likely rise to 12 million tonnes in 2007, from 11.3
million tonnes in the current year. Indonesia exported 10.38 million
tonnes of palm oil in 2005.

"Our palm output is also rising and we are hopeful of overtaking
Malaysia's output by next year," Apriyantono added.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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