date:Jul 07, 2014
g the cost of land conversion and cultivation compared to cheaper imports.
Indonesia's agro-food imports have more than quadrupled in a decade to about $18.4 billion in 2013, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Indonesia has to import all its wheat, with rising wealth encouraging people to eat more bread, noodles and fast foods.
But unless it lifts output of soybeans, corn, sugar and rice Indonesia will have to rely on imports from places such as Australia,