Will Indonesia’s Rice Production Decline This Year?
Indonesia expects rice production to decline by 0.2% (about 80,000 tonnes) in 2026, following last year’s 4-million-tonne surplus. Government rice reserves stand at 5.17 million tonnes, while concerns have emerged over aging and damaged stocks in Bulog warehouses, prompting calls for faster distribution and improved stock management.
Amran Sulaiman, the head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), spoke about a possible decline in rice production this year. “Last year, [rice production] recorded a surplus of 4 million tons. Let’s assume that by the end of the year we will see a 0.2 percent decline, approximately 80 thousand tons,” he said in a written statement on Wednesday, June 24.
Nevertheless, he claimed that the 0.2 percent decrease is incomparable to the significant rise in production last year. “[Still] a surplus of 4 million across two years,” he said.
Amran cited Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data, which projects a 0.08 million ton drop in rice production from January to July 2026, compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, BPN recorded 5.17 million tons in rice reserves stored in Bulog warehouses as of June 23. This includes 3.23 million tons of domestically produced rice since early 2026, 3.24 million tons of remaining rice stock from 2025. The realization of domestically produced rice last year amounted to 3.43 million tons.
Regarding rice stock, the Chair of House Commission IV, Siti Hediati Hariyadi or Titiek Soeharto, previously urged Minister Amran not to store rice older than six months old in Bulog warehouses. “You have a stock of 5 million, but 1.5 million tons are discolored rice,” said Titiek during a working meeting in the parliamentary complex, Jakarta, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.
This statement was made by Titiek Soeharto when presenting the results of her working visit to the Bulog warehouse in Madura, East Java. Titiek said that out of 1.4 million tons, 400 thousand tons of rice in East Java are over 1 year old.
She also asked Amran to ensure that the distribution of rice from the Bulog warehouse is done swiftly to avoid unwanted incidents.
In response to the criticism, Amran claimed to have summoned the Bulog Board of Directors. According to Amran, Bulog then documented the damaged rice. He said there were about 3,619 tons of damaged rice in the Bulog warehouse in Madura.
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Source : Tempo.co
