JAKARTA — The National Logistics Agency of Indonesia (Bulog) has concluded a contract to import 1 million tonnes of rice from Vietnam. This contract is part of an additional import quota totaling 1.5 million tonnes, also including supplies from Thailand, Pakistan, and Myanmar.

According to Vietnam News Agency, Director of Supply Chain and Public Services at Bulog, the purpose of the import is to augment the government’s rice reserves up to 2024. Suyamto elaborated that Bulog is open to importing rice from any nation that can meet Indonesia’s quality criteria.

Bulog’s current rice stockpile stands at 1.45 million tonnes. With this import, the reserves are set to expand to suffice for distribution needs over the next year and to ensure the stability of the domestic rice market. Since the beginning of the year, Bulog has supplied 885,000 tonnes of rice to stabilize prices and provided 641,000 tonnes as food assistance to the impoverished between September and November.