Credit: REUTERS/AJENG DINAR ULFIANA

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HAMBURG, Feb 27 (Reuters) – Indonesian state purchasing agency BULOG has issued an international tender to buy some 300,000 metric tons of rice, European traders said on Tuesday.

The deadline for registration for tender participation by trading houses is also Tuesday, Feb. 27.

The Indonesian government has allocated an additional rice import quota of 1.6 million metric tons for 2024, after shipping in near record volumes in last year, as dryness linked to the El Nino weather pattern delayed Indonesia’s harvest.

The latest import quota, which is on top of 2 million tons previously approved for 2024, comes amid expectations the country’s January-March rice harvest will be lower than last year due to below normal rains in Java – the country’s key rice growing region.

Indonesia in December ordered its army to help farmers plant rice as severe drought has reduced output of the staple in Southeast Asia’s most populous country, lifting prices, requiring increased imports and threatening food security.

The new tender seeks white rice of 5% broken grade, European traders said. It should be sourced from the 2023/2024 crop year and should have been milled no longer than six months ago.

In a previous import tender reported on Jan. 31, BULOG is believed to have purchased about 500,000 tons of rice.

Traders said this week that Indonesian rice buying has helping to driving global prices higher.

Asia rice prices have been near 16-year highs after India, the world’s top supplier, restricted exports last year.

Published Date: February 27, 2024