On September 5, Minister of Agriculture of Indonesia, Andi Amran Sulaiman, announced that Indonesia will halt its rice imports till the end of 2025. Furthermore, he stated that over the past two years, the government had regularly imported rice to strengthen national reserves in an interview held on Friday.
What did Indonesian agri minister say about halt in rice imports?
“God willing, there will be no imports because we have sufficient stock,” he said.
However, Indonesia has not imported rice this year despite the global food crisis since the country’s current rice stock is at nearly 4 million tons, which is twice last year’s reserve of 2 million tons.
According to data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in 2025, the rice harvest is projected to reach 34-35 million tons, which is a rise of 4 million tons compared to last year. He cited that this 4 million-ton increase has also raised farmers’ income by Rp60 trillion (US$3.6 billion). Feeling grateful for this, he further asserted that Production has improved by simplifying regulations, improving production facilities, and easing fertiliser procurement under the President’s initiative.
Higher stock has a positive impact on NTP
Not only this, but he also noted that the higher stock has had a positive impact on the Nilai Tukar Petani (Farmers’ Terms of Trade) this year, which led to an enhancement the farmer welfare. The Minister said: “The NTP, which exhibits farmer welfare, has risen by 123 per cent. This is an achievement we should applaud. Despite market fluctuations, the government remains responsible for stabilising prices.” Additionally, the Head of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) for South Sumatra and Bangka Belitung, Mersi Windrayani, reported that currently, rice stocks in her region are about 99,000 tons, which is enough to last for the next five to six months.