Indonesia would be able to export rice next year to alleviate a global food crisis, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda told the Australian Parliament recently.
The planned export will be the country's first in 16 years.
"Indonesia's rice production first reached self-sufficiency and surplus levels 16 years ago. With a projected rice production increase of 5 percent this year, Indonesia should be able to export rice again from next year," Wirajuda said in Australia on Friday, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.
Indonesia, which is currently the fourth most populous country in the world, has been importing rice for several years due to shortages in local rice production levels.
Officials, however, have shunned the rice import this year, saying production levels were already sufficient.
