Robert Go, Jakarta – Running low on rice and other staple goods, Indonesia is mulling over a barter programme with other Asean countries to trade for those commodities using locally produced planes, trains, coal and other goods, senior officials say.

Mr Widjanarko Puspojo, head of the logistics agency Bulog, explained that the supply of rice was enough for the country's 210 million people now, but that the government wanted to explore its options in case of future food shortages.

During her speech to the country's supreme assembly on Thursday, President Megawati Sukarnoputri described the process of ensuring an adequate food supply, especially for the poor, as one of her government's major problems.

Mr Widjanarko said: "The idea is still raw. If the government needs to import more but doesn't have enough money in the Budget, maybe alternative payment options could work."

Bulog spokesman Suhardo confirmed that his agency's officials were talking to various Indonesian ministries as well as representatives of Thailand and Vietnam to gauge the feasibility of the barter concept.

Ms Putri Lenggogene, the Bulog director responsible for the import programme, also spent this week in Vietnam to discuss future rice deals between the two countries.

Indonesia is the world's number-one importer of rice and will buy an estimated total of 1.8 million tonnes this year. Government experts, however, have already predicted declining domestic production and the need to import more than two million tonnes of rice in 2002.

Still, Indonesia's food situation is much better now compared to 1998 and 1999. During those two years, at the height of the economic crisis, Bulog and the country's private traders bought a total of nearly 10 million tonnes of rice.

Mr Widjanarko said: "It makes sense to barter. We have several products that are needed by other countries' development programmes. If both sides can agree on a fair valuation for the local products that Indonesia has to offer, then we can barter. Why not?"

The Bulog chief declined to go into specifics, such as how much rice would be needed in coming years or what specific commodities Indonesia could use as payment. But he listed planes produced by state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia, locomotives such as those used by state-run PT KAI and coal produced by mines in the Kalimantan provinces as potential barter goods.