Chief Minister Asks two Ministries to Investigate Vietnam Rice imports

Yogyakarta (Antara) - Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa has ordered the Trade Ministry and the Agriculture Ministry to investigate the illegal entry into Indonesia of Vietnamese rice. "I have met with Agriculture Minister Suswono and the trade deputy minister, asking them to investigate the case soon," Hatta Rajasa said here on Thursday. The minister added that there were indications of abuse of import permits. Based upon the permits, the importers were not allowed to import medium category rice. "From the aspect of agriculture and trade, there is nothing wrong with it. The licenses have correctly been issued. But the importers who used the licenses might have abused them," Hatta stated. He noted that the licenses should be used only for importing certain types of rice. The minister was responding to a report on illegal rice imports discovered at the Cipinang wholesale market, East Jakarta, noting that the price of the illegal rice was less expensive than the price of farmers' rice. It was also reported that the Vietnamese rice was brought into the country using legal documents from the directorate general of external trade of the Ministry of Trade. Hatta stressed that the government had never issued a permit for individuals to import rice. Therefore, he was convinced that the rice that came from Vietnam had been imported illegally. The government has only issued a license for rice imports to state-owned logistics board Bulog as a market price stabilizer. Bulog was assigned by the government to import rice or to purchase it from farmers to guarantee proper rice stocks are kept in storage. "The license to import rice will be issued for Bulog only, except for the importation of certain types of rice for foreigners and for others. It is Bulog that has the authority to import it," the minister said. (*)