Indonesia seeks to end rice imports this year as output jumps
JAKARTA — Indonesia plans to halt rice imports this year for the first time in decades, driven by surging production and reserves. Vice-Minister Sudaryono said output may hit 33.8 million tonnes by 2026. The move supports President Prabowo’s food self-sufficiency push. With growing stockpiles, Indonesia may even export rice, with shipments to Malaysia already in preparation.
JAKARTA- Indonesia is set to stop importing rice this year for the first time in decades, thanks to surging production and stockpiles in one of the world’s top growers of the staple food.
Domestic output is expected to increase to at least 33.8 million tonnes in 2026, up from a target of 32.8 million tonnes this year, said Vice-Minister of Agriculture Sudaryono. National rice reserves more than doubled to four million tonnes in May from 1.7 million tonnes in January, as production improved following a drought-induced slump last year, according to ministry data.
The plan supports President Prabowo Subianto’s ambition to reduce reliance on other countries. Since taking office in October, he has been championing food self-sufficiency in the world’s fourth-most populous nation, where 280 million people consume around 30 million tonnes of rice annually.
Prabowo’s campaign has gained momentum amid rising global tensions and climate disruptions. Indonesia imported 4.65 million tonnes of rice in 2023 to 2024, the highest since 1997 to 1998, due to crop damage from El Nino, according to US Department of Agriculture data. The nation has bought rice every season since at least the 1960s, the agency’s figures show.
“Having food security is like preventing people from getting sick,” Sudaryono, who like many Indonesians uses one name, said on Wednesday (May 7). “It is cheaper than curing them.”
The expanded reserves could even allow for exports, a rare phenomenon in the nation. At least two neighbouring countries, Malaysia and the Philippines, have asked to buy rice from Indonesia, said Sudaryono. Currently, about 1,000 tonnes is being prepared for shipment to Malaysia’s Sabah and Sarawak, he said.
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Source : Business Times
