Adriana Nina Kusuma – Indonesia will scrap import duty on rice until the end of March 2011 as part of the government efforts to ease food prices and fight inflation, the finance ministry said on Friday.

Rice is currently subject to import duty of 450 rupiah per kg. The government will also scrap import duties on wheat and soybeans until the end of 2011 to stabilize prices, said Bambang Brodjonegoro, acting head of the fiscal policy office at the ministry.

"Import duty for both soybean and wheat should return to normal levels of 5 percent each by January 2012," Brodjonegoro told reporters.