Rice import is a sensitive issue in the agriculture-based Indonesian economy but falling output has forced the government to buy 1.5 million tons of rice from Vietnam and Thailand.

However, supplies from the two Southeast Asian neighbors have so far reached only 657,220 tons, reported leading economic daily Bisnis Indonesia.

"We are assessing a possibility of cooperating with Chinese rice suppliers," State Logistics Agency (Bulog) head Mustafa Abubakar was quoted as saying.

Indonesia needs to find rice suppliers other than Thailand and Vietnam "in case of emergency situation," he said without elaborating.

The import quota for China, however, has not been set.