Manila eyes more rice imports, Indonesia curbs exports

By Carmel Crimmins and Yayat Supriatna

MANILA/JAKARTA (Reuters) - The Philippines will accelerate rice imports, it said on Tuesday, while Indonesia imposed controls over exports as Asian nations battle inflation and food security concerns caused by soaring global prices.

In Manila, the world's top importer, the state grain buyer said it would seek another half a million tonnes to stock up ahead of the typically lean third quarter, although President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said supplies were sufficient for now.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest rice consumer, confirmed new rice export rules meant to head off a potential rush by farmers to offload their crops at export prices that are nearly double local rates.

Benchmark Thai rice prices have doubled since the start of the year to hit a series of record highs, boosting inflation for major rice consumers and raising the specter of unrest linked to food prices.

Under Indonesia's new rules, only state procurement agency Bulog is allowed to sell overseas, and only when national stocks are above 3 million tonnes and domestic prices are below a government target price, said Mari Pangestu, the trade minister.

"In principle, the aim is to maintain rice stocks in the country and maintain price stability," Pangestu said, adding that the target price will be set later.

Government data showed Indonesia's average rice prices fell about 0.5 percent to 5,351 rupiah ($0.583) per kilogram in the first two weeks of April during rice harvests, putting it sharply below $925 a tonne for Thai 100 percent parboiled rice.

Indonesia is not a big rice exporter, shipping just 50,000 tonnes of organic rice last year, but the fall in domestic rice prices when global rice prices are soaring had raised concerns over the possibility of rice smuggling out of the vast archipelago, especially into the neighboring Philippines.