Indonesia : Probe sought as rice prices defy high reserves : Minister
Indonesia’s Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has called for an investigation into rising rice prices, despite record reserves of over four million tons. Retail prices climbed to Rp14,748/kg in May 2025, contradicting falling mill prices. The minister suspects middlemen of manipulating distribution, causing artificial inflation. Authorities will work with the Food Task Force to probe the issue.
Jakarta (ANTARA) – Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman sought an investigation into an apparent rice pricing anomaly, characterized by rising prices despite the government having secured over four million tons of reserves—the highest level in 57 years.
According to data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), rice prices at both wholesale and retail levels rose in May 2025, reaching Rp13,735 (US$0.84) and Rp14,748 (US$0.90) per kilogram, respectively.
“We need to investigate this phenomenon. Why are prices rising at the retail level?” he remarked during a press conference at his office in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Sulaiman highlighted that this price hike contradicts the declining trend at rice mills, which should have led to more favorable prices for wholesalers and retailers.
Moreover, the minister cited unusual data from the Cipinang Rice Warehouse in East Jakarta, where 11,410 tons of rice were dispatched on May 28 alone.
“This means about one thousand trucks moved rice out from the warehouse in a single day. No such event has occurred in the past five years,” he emphasized.
Sulaiman stressed that the Ministry of Agriculture would collaborate with the Food Task Force to investigate these irregularities, which are suspected to be caused by predatory practices by middlemen in the distribution chains.
The minister suggested these middlemen may be intentionally lengthening the distribution chains, causing prices to rise.
“This is not right. There must be middlemen involved,” he stated. “They are the parties we often refer to as mafias,” he added.
He pointed out that these speculated practices undermine the government’s efforts to help domestic farmers boost their production.
Nonetheless, Sulaiman expressed confidence that the government is still on track to achieve national rice self-sufficiency by the third year of President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, earlier than the original fourth-year target.
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Source : Antara News
