"Indonesian rice is very cheap compared to the rice produced by other countries," PNG's Consul General to Indonesia, Geifrey Wiri,said.
Merauke, Papua (ANTARA News) - Papua New Guineas (PNG) Consul General to Indonesia, Geifrey Wiri, said his country was very lucky to import rice produced by the Indonesian farmers in Merauke, Papua province.

"Indonesian rice is very cheap compared to the rice produced by other countries," Wiri said here on Tuesday.

According to him, PNG imports rice from Thailand and Vietnam.

"The launch of Indonesian rice export to PNG is quite surprising to me, because this is the first time we import rice from Indonesia," he stated.

Wiri added that the Indonesian rice export plan will be submitted to the government of Papua New Guinea.

Wiri and two other PNG officials attended the launch of the Indonesian rice export by Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman in Merauke on Monday (Feb 13).

Earlier, at the launch of the rice export, the minister invited the PNG government to import rice from Merauke.

The minister advised Merauke district administration to not only launch the export but also continue to increase rice exports to other countries.

He added that the central government will continue to provide supports for agricultural infrastructure in Papua, especially in Merauke.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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