Indonesia 2010 wheat imports may rise on higher demand

Indonesia may increase its wheat imports by five percent next year due to rising demand, a senior industry official said Tuesday.

Shipments may rise to around 4.73 million tonnes in 2010 to meet demand from new mills set up on expectations that consumption of products such as instant noodles may grow, said Franciscus Welirang, chairman of the Indonesian Wheat Flour Producers Association.

Indonesia will likely import the wheat from Australia, the US, Canada, China and Argentina, Welirang said.

Indonesia is expected to import 4.5 million tonnes of wheat this year.