The minister highlighted that the country’s national rice reserves have hit the highest levels in five years, with between 1.9 to 2 million tonnes currently stored, and over 6 million tonnes already distributed this year. In total, Indonesia has stockpiled approximately 8 million tonnes of rice.
On November 27, Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman reiterated the government's target of producing 32 million tonnes of rice by 2025, as part of its strategic goal to halt rice imports and achieve greater food self-sufficiency.
Earlier, the Indonesian government had planned to import 1 million tonnes of rice in early 2025 to meet domestic demand, as rice production is expected to decline this year.
According to the Indonesian Statistics Agency (BPS), rice output is projected to fall by 2.43% this year. Arief Prasetyo Adi, head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), noted that the period from December 2024 to February 2025, the pre-harvest season, will place additional pressure on rice reserves.
In 2023, Indonesia had to import 3.5 million tonnes of rice due to reduced local production and escalating prices. The government attributed these challenges to the impact of the El Nino weather phenomenon and geopolitical conflicts that resulted in increased protectionism worldwide.
