The lowest price offered in the international tender from Indonesian state purchasing agency Bulog to buy about 500,000 metric tonnes of rice was estimated at $479 a tonne cost and freight (c&f) for rice expected to be sourced from Pakistan, European traders said on Friday.

The lowest offer was said to have been made for 26,000 tonnes.

No purchase has yet been reported and price negotiations are expected to continue in coming days, traders said. A decision is expected next week.

Reports reflect assessments from traders and further estimates of prices and volumes are still possible later.

Rice arrival in Indonesia is sought in November to December and the rice can be sourced from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Pakistan or India. Price offers were submitted on Friday.

Two other offers of rice from Pakistan were the next lowest at $484 and $485 a tonne c&f, traders said.

Click to see more

The lowest reported offer for rice from Vietnam was $515, from Thailand/Cambodia $511, from India $513 and from Myanmar $517.50 all per tonne c&f for consignments ranging from 25,000 to 30,000 tonnes.

The tender continues heavy rice purchasing by Indonesia in global markets to cool domestic prices after a disappointing domestic harvest.

Indonesia’s 2024 rice output is estimated at 30.34 million metric tonnes, down 2.43 per cent from last year. Most of the decline was in the January-April period, when production dropped nearly 15pc on the year.

To shore up supply, Indonesia aims to import up to 3.6 million tonnes of rice this year. It also plans to sharply increase the planted area in 2025 and is considering importing 1 million tonnes of rice from India in 2025.

In the new tender, Bulog is seeking white rice of 5pc broken grade from the 2024 crop year, milled not longer than six months ago, traders said.