European traders reported on Monday that the Indonesian state purchasing agency Bulog had issued an international bid to purchase about 320,000 tons of rice.

The deadline to submit price offers for the tender is 31 July. Bulog will begin price negotiations that could last for several days, traders say.

The National Food Agency secretary said that if the harvest was not sufficient, Indonesia may import up to 4,3 million tons of rice.

Indonesia plans to import an additional 3.6 million tonnes of rice in this year.

The Indonesian statistics agency estimates that the rice production for January to august will be 9.52 % lower than in 2023. The price of domestic rice, a staple food for Indonesia's 270,000,000 people, was almost 12% more expensive in June than it was a year ago after adverse weather conditions reduced the crops.

Bulog wants white rice that is 5% broken grade and milled no more than six months back from the 2024 crop, according to traders.

Arriving in Indonesia between August 2024 and September 2024, the rice can come from Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar.

The tender comes after Indonesia made a series large purchases abroad in the first half this year, to increase rice imports and cool down prices following a poor crop locally.

Bulog bought about 210,000 tonnes of rice in its last international tender, which was reported on May 22. The majority of the rice purchased came from Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. (Reporting and editing by Christopher Cushing; Michael Hogan)