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The State Logistics Agency has postponed bidding for rice
imports scheduled for Monday to Sept. 20 due to a revision on port
destinations and the rice import quota.
The bidding committee head Agusdin Farid said Monday in Jakarta that
there had to be a postponement after he received a letter from Trade
Minister Mari E. Pangestu regarding the revision of designated posts
and quotas for rice imports.
"We received the trade minister's letter with her decision to revise
the port destinations and quota this morning," he said as quoted by
Antara.
In the letter, the minister demands an increase in the number of port
destinations from 10 to 12, with the addition of Port Biak in Papua and
Port Ambon in Maluku, to receive 6,000 and 12,000 tons, respectively.
The minister also revised the import quota for Port Belawan in North
Sumatra by increasing it from 22,000 tons to 28,000 tons, from 16,000
tons to 222,000 tons for Port Dumai, from 14,000 tons to 20,000 tons
for Balikpapan and from 24,000 tons to 30,000 tons for Port Bitung in
North Sulawesi.
Meanwhile, the minister decided to allow Port Lhokseumawe in Aceh to
receive 18,000 tons, Port Padang in West Sumatra and Sorong in Irian
Jaya 12,000 tons each and Port Jayapura in Papua 6,000 tons, as it had
been already scheduled.
As for Banten's Port Ciwandan, which was initially allowed to receive
52 tons, the minister has taken off the port off the list of rice
import destinations.
With the changes, Agusdin said, the opening price for bidding would
also be revised as shipment costs would be included.
On Monday, As many 24 representatives of the bidders had come to the
auction. The bidders were, among others, Vietnam Southern Food Core,
Ponglarp Thailand, PT Indhasana, Ki Engiang Trading, Ti Engiang Food,
PT Olam Indonesia, PT Virgo Sari and Louis Dreyfus Indonesia.
Agusdin said that the bidders had told him that they accepted the
postponement.
"In the next two days, they will have the chance to conduct a review
before making their biddings," Agusdin said.
He also said that the auction on Sept. 20 was only the first stage of
the process, where the agency would single out three bidders before the
final bidding, the date for which had not been decided yet.
The government has allocated Rp 390 billion (US$43 million) from this
year's state budget to import about 210,000 tons of rice to cope with a
possible shortage due to natural disasters.
Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said that the government would go ahead
with the rice import plan despite strong protests, not only from the
association of farmers but also from non-governmental organizations and
members of the House of Representatives, who have said that the move
would hurt local farmers.
Mari said that the import was needed to boost rice reserves which had
substantially declined in recent months due to the increase in rice
stocks sent to several provinces hit by earthquakes and tsunami.
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