UN food agency hails end to Indonesia's ban on humanitarian rice imports

Welcoming Indonesia's decision to exempt humanitarian agencies from its ban on rice imports, the United Nations World Food Programme today said that millions of poor Indonesians are now guaranteed the delivery of urgently needed assistance.

The decision followed talks between the agency and the Government on the issue. WFP Representative Mohamed Saleheen said it paves the way for the resumption of feeding operations for 1.7 million people - mostly malnourished mothers and their infants - in the vast Southeast Asian country.

"As they are among the poorest and most fragile people in Indonesia, they cannot afford the risk of an interruption in their food aid support," he said.

The exemption of the rice ban for humanitarian purposes comes six months after the Government stopped all rice imports in an effort to protect local farmers. Nearly 12,000 metric tons of rice destined for hungry Indonesians was held in warehouses and ports while additional aid shipments had to be diverted to other destinations.

Most of the rice granted the exemption is destined for a subsidy programme for 1.7 million Indonesians who live in desperately poor slums. WFP had drawn on its existing in country stocks for them until the end of June. When they ran out, the agency borrowed rice from the Indonesian Government.