Surabaya  (ANTARA News) - Indonesia is considering to export around one million tons of rice in 2009 as supply and production are rising while rice sufficiency is already reached, an agriculture ministry official said here on Monday. The ministry`s director general of food crops, Sutarto Alemoeso, said to newsmen after explaining about rice and unhulled rice procurement in 2009 that "in 2008 the country`s rice surplus reached 2.34 million tons and this year it is expected to reach around 3.8 million tons from a production target of 63.5 million tons in dry unhulled rice (around 40 million tons of rice equivalent). If the target is met the government must have courage to export it."

"Based upon our calculation national stock should be safe at five million tons while production in the past two years reached above six million tons. The surplus of one million tons must be exported," he said.

He said neighbouring countries such as Brunei Darussalam, Singapore and Timor Leste would be the potential market for the country`s rice.

Sutarto predicted the world rice price would increase after dropping recently following the rise in the price of urea fertilizer in the international market.

"The rise in production cost certainly will promote the price of rice. It must however be admitted that some quarters still disagreed with the idea. The government however must be optimistic and would consider it," he said.

In the 2008/2009 planting season the governement expects the country`s rice production to reach 63.5 million tons in dried unhulled rice. The target is higher that the previous one which was only at around 60 million tons in dried unhulled rice, he said.

To meet the target he said the government had made ready several strategies including increasing productivity, field campaigning, safeguarding production and strengthening institutions.

To increase productivity he said the government had provided top seeds and adequate fertilizer supplies.

Sutarto said the country`s urea production this year would be increased from 4.8 million tons to 5.5 million tons while NPK production from one million to 1.5 million tons, ZA from 800,000 to 923,000 tons and organic fertilizer from 350,000 to 450,000 tons.

"Besides increasing production, distribution of fertilizer as well as pattern of its distribution will also be improved. The government will meet the shortage in case it happens," he said.

He said shortage of fertilizers that often happened ahead of a planting season was caused by excessive use of fertilizers by farmers, lack of maximum distribution and frauds. (*)
 

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