[Kabar-indonesia] Indonesia's 2006 rice output seen up 1.11 pct

[Joyo at aol.com]

Indonesia's 2006 rice output seen up 1.11 pct

JAKARTA, July 3 (Reuters) - Indonesia expects its
unmilled rice production to increase 1.11 percent this
year to 54.75 million tonnes, the state statistics
bureau said on Monday.

The bureau said Indonesia produced 54.15 million
tonnes of unmilled rice in 2005.

"The increase in rice output is due to an expansion of
harvested paddy fields and higher productivity in Java
and outer Java islands," Rusman Heriawan, the head of
the statistics bureau, told a new conference.

Rice imports by private traders have been banned in
Indonesia since early 2004, but imports are allowed if
there is a shortage in domestic stocks and if local
rice prices rise to a certain level.

The ban was aimed at combatting rampant smuggling that
disrupted domestic prices of local rice -- a staple
food for the country's 220 million people --
particularly during the harvest period.

The bureau said corn production is expected to fall
0.22 percent to 12.50 million tonnes this year from
12.52 million tonnes in 2005 due to a fall in the area
under cultivation.

Soybean output is also expected to fall 3.07 percent
to 784,000 tonnes this year from 808,000 tonnes in
2005. (Additional reporting Yayat Supriyatna)

------------------------------------------ 
Joyo Indonesia News Service
------------------------------------------