ASEAN Analyst Projects Indonesia's Rice Imports Up 4X By 2010 - Climate Implicated In Falling Yields [View All]

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Prolonged droughts and flooding across Indonesia, due in part to climate change, are likely to cost the nation up to 1.6 million tons of rice per year, an official says. Public Works Ministry's director general of water resources, Iwan Nursyiman, said at a seminar climate change could result in the loss of some 364,500 hectares of active paddy fields, equal to 919,300 tons of rice, due to flooding.

In early January, floods inundated thousands of hectares of land in several central rice producing areas of Java, the nation's main rice growing area, and Jambi. Floods caused more than 36,000 hectares of paddy to fail. "Nationally, droughts are likely to destroy some 350,000 hectares of rice crops, equivalent to up to 700,000 tons of rice," he said.

The government is targeting a 5 percent increase in national rice production levels, from 58.18 million tons in 2007 to 61.08 million this year.

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Also speaking at the seminar was Rauf Purnama, former president director of PT ASEAN Aceh Fertilizer, who said that without integrated efforts from many related sectors, Indonesia's rice imports would increase, and by 2010 the country would be among the world's largest rice importers. "By 2010, assuming current production trends continue, Indonesia would need to import some 4.78 million tons at a cost of no less than US$1.2 billion." Indonesia imported 1.2 million tons of rice in 2007.

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