International Food Aid to Indonesia, 1950s-70s

Indonesia experienced growing shortfalls of food supplies during the 1950s and
during the 1960s and 1970s it imported increasing amounts of rice, wheat and wheat
flour. This paper investigates the role of food aid in this development. In the 1950s,
Indonesia received some US PL480 food aid under concessional loans. Despite
occasional famines, and the willingness of countries to supply food aid as grants,
Indonesia did not request such food aid until 1966. Donations of wheat flour, rice and
other food products started to arrive in Indonesia in 1967 and increased quickly since.
During the 1970s one-third of Indonesia’s imports of both rice and wheat arrived as
aid. Initially donor countries focused on rice aid in efforts to secure shares in
Indonesia’s growing rice imports. But their focus shifted to wheat aid, in response to
opportunities for them to grow Indonesia’s market for wheat-based products and
secure market share. Food aid helped to alleviate food shortages, but it also
strengthened the role of the official food logistics agency in Indonesia’s food markets.