Bulog cancels recent rice tender on policy provisions

Bulog, Indonesia’s state-owned food procurement agency, has announced the cancellation of its most recent tender, originally scheduled for Oct. 22. The agency cited internal policy guidelines as the reason for the decision.

A source said that the terms of reference for the tender need to be revised to include India.

“It’s a technical issue, and they have to redo the terms,” the source said.

The cancellation was announced via email, since, according to section C, point c of Bulog’s tender regulations, “any changes to the schedule or information will be communicated to you via registered email address.”

A few Pakistani sources also mentioned that the market had been anticipating India’s decisions to remove the Minimum Export Price (MEP) of $490/mt on white rice varieties, which is expected to lead to further price drops. This is likely to create more favorable conditions for procurement. Sources indicate that a revised tender is anticipated to be released in the near future.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed Vietnamese 5% broken WR at $523/mt FOB Oct. 23, down by $6 on the week; Thai 5% broken WR at $505/mt FOB Oct. 23, down $10 on the week; Indian 5% broken WR at $490/mt unchanged on the week; and Pakistani 5% broken WR at $477/mt FOB Oct. 23, up $2 on the week.

Indonesia’s national agricultural agency announced its ninth tender of the year Oct. 21, seeking to buy 340,000 mt of 5% broken white rice milled within the last six months. This announcement followed a decline in Asian rice prices after India lifted its ban on non-basmati white rice exports. As per the original notification, Bulog had planned to source rice from India, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, or Pakistan, with delivery scheduled from November to Dec. 20.

In 2024, Indonesia has issued nine tenders, purchasing 2.6 million mt of rice in the first eight. However, the ninth tender has now been canceled.

Analysts from Commodity Insights predict that Indonesia's rice imports will total to around 3.6 million mt in the 2023-24 marketing year, while the US Department of Agriculture estimates it at 3.8 million mt.