Indonesia bought 716,000 tonnes of rice through two tenders organised by the Bulog state commodity regulator this month. The origins are Myanmar, China, Thailand and Vietnam.

"Most traders believe the tender will be held in the middle of October after Bulog officials return from visits to China, Taiwan and Thailand to discuss rice procurement through government-to-government deals," said one trader in Jakarta.

Bulog officials said on Wednesday the tender would be held in October but no date had been set. They also said the amount of rice to be purchased had not been decided.

"We are still discussing the amount to be tendered. I just cannot give you other details," said one Bulog official. "The amount could be higher than 600,000 tonnes," said the official.

Some traders speculated the amount would be between 600,000 and 1.4 million tonnes.

Trade and industry minister Rahardi Ramelan told a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday Indonesia's rice stocks were projected at 3.9 million tonnes until December 1998, in which 2.2 million tonnes would be allocated for market operations from September to December.