"As of March 31, Indonesia has no longer imported rice from other countries. This is especially because the harvest season has arrived across the country," the minister told the press when making an impromptu inspection of the Wonokromo market in Surabaya.
Import of cane sugar has also been halted as of April 15, 2011 as many sugar cane production centers nationwide have been on their grinding period.
"Based on these situations, we trust that foodstuff stockpile in the country could meet public`s demands," Minister Pangestu said, adding that the sufficiency of the foodstuff would be able to suffice the demand until the Id Fitri celebration in the year-end.
She however said that for rice, the government would keep an eye on the availability of the commodity and anticipate the situation when harvest seasons are over.
Cane sugar is also another important commodity which the government would always be monitoring its availability in the market as stock will be minimum in the first five months of the year.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
