HCMC – Indonesia’s National Logistics Agency (Bulog) has canceled a tender to import 340,000 tons of rice, according to an official notification released on Wednesday.
The cancellation came just a day after Indonesia invited bids from multiple countries, including Vietnam, for rice supply.
Perushaan Umum (Perum), the state-owned firm authorized by Bulog to manage the tender, issued the cancellation notification on October 23. The notification referenced the original tender invitation released on October 22, which has now been withdrawn.
The canceled tender had called for bids from rice exporters in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Pakistan for 340,000 tons of 5% broken rice, produced in 2024 and milled within six months. Exporters were expected to submit their offers by October 30, with the three lowest bids proceeding to price negotiations.
This tender would have been Bulog’s ninth international rice purchase of the year. In the eighth round, held on September 25, Bulog bought 450,000 tons of rice from Vietnam, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Thailand, with Vietnam securing 59,000 tons.
Although no official reason for the cancellation has been provided, unconfirmed sources said that Indonesia may have reached a separate deal with India for cheaper rice.
Indonesia plans to import 3.6 million tons of rice in 2024 due to poor domestic harvests resulting from unfavorable weather conditions.
Indonesia had been Vietnam’s second-largest rice buyer in the year through August. In the first eight months of the year, Indonesia imported 914,000 tons of rice from Vietnam, valued at US$558 million—a 27% increase in volume and a 54% surge in value compared to the same period in 2023.
