JAKARTA, Dec 26:ndonesia will import half of a planned 500,000 tons of foreign rice for 2007 via a government-to-government deal with Vietnam due to limited time, a senior trade ministry official said on Tuesday.

Indonesia announced last week it plans to import around 500,000 tons of rice to meet domestic rice demand until the main rice harvest in March because of an expected shortfall in domestic rice output.

Bulog, Indonesia's state logistic agency, had planned to do an open tender to import the staple of Indonesia's 220 million people.

Due to limited time, it's difficult to do an open tender to import rice by January. We will import half of the planned amount via G-to-G with Vietnam because we still have standby stock of 500,000 tons there, Diah Maulida, director general of foreign trade, told reporters.

Maulida said the rice from the G-to-G scheme was imported at $282 a ton. The remaining amount will be imported via open tender for delivery in February and March, she said.

Last year, the government partly lifted a rice import ban in place since 2004 to allow Bulog to import rice for the poor and to ensure stocks were sufficient.

The government's decision to import the main staple through Bulog has in the past triggered protests in the countryside by farmers who fear imports could depress prices.

Rice imports are allowed if Bulog's government stocks fall below 1 million tons or local prices of medium grade rice rise above 3,550 rupiah ($0.390) a kg.

The imported grain cannot be sold for public consumption but is set aside as a buffer stock and is only used for emergency purposes and to stabilise prices.--Reuters