JAKARTA, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia has successfully maintained rice production levels nearly on par with last year despite months of drought caused by El Niño, a minister said on Monday.

Indonesian Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said that the country's rice production reached nearly 31 million tons by the end of this year.

"This year, rice production exceeded 30 million tons, falling short of last year's production by only 500,000 tons," he said at the ministry.

The minister noted that Indonesia faced both La Nina and El Nino weather phenomena in key rice-producing regions, with these extreme conditions causing prolonged droughts and floods.

Rice, the staple food for most of Indonesia's population of over 280 million, remains a critical agricultural product. Earlier, the minister had projected the country's rice production to increase to 32 million tons, a level sufficient to halt imports of the commodity. Enditem

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