Indonesia Announces Plan to Export Rice, FBN Not Optimistic
- Indonesia’s new Minister of Agriculture stated a goal of exporting 100,000 to 500,000 tonnes of premium rice in 2020.
- Reports indicate Saudi Arabia may be the main destination as thousands of Indonesians prepare to visit Mecca for Hajj (August 2020).
- Indonesia is a net importer of rice, has protectionist measures in place, and exports only minimal quantities.
- From January to October, exports totaled 202 tonnes of rice.
- Further, local prices for premium rice are quoted at $846 per tonne; FOB Thai rice was quoted at $422 per tonne and Vietnamese rice at $341.
- FBN’s Take On What It Means For The Farmer: Indonesia’s plan seems unlikely on several fronts. First, its prices are not competitive. Second, the country is a net importer and does not have adequate domestic supplies to export notable quantities. Indonesia has been striving to become self sufficient in rice but has yet to do so. There is no room in its balance sheet to export 100,000 tonnes of rice without importing the same amount.
China’s November Pork Imports Surge
- China imported 229,707 tonnes of pork in November.
- That was up more than 150% from a year ago and 30% from October imports.
- That also was the largest volume since at least January 2016.
- Cumulative imports since January are 1.7 million tonnes, up 58% from 2018.
- Beef imports are also up.
- November shipments totaled 186,974 tonnes, up 79% from a year ago.
- Cumulative beef imports total 1.5 million tonnes, up 57% year-over-year.
- China recently lifted its ban on some Japanese beef imports.
- FBN’s Take On What It Means For The Farmer: China continues to deal with the repercussions of African swine fever and cases are still being reported. China is expected to continue to have months of historically high imports of meat. While China is sourcing pork from other origins, this overall benefits the US producer and could continue for many months to come.
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