Indonesia seeks to end rice imports this year as output jumps

[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.

Indonesia produced 8.61 million tonnes of rice in the first quarter, a 53 per cent jump from the same period last year, thanks to more favourable weather during the rainy season. With additional efforts taken to boost output during the dry season of May to July, production may beat the target, he said. Indonesia’s rice output is forecast to increase 11 per cent in the first half, according to the statistics bureau.

Sudaryono said that around 37,000 of the ministry’s so-called agriculture extension workers have been deployed across the nation to help farmers lift their output. The ministry also sought help from the military to assist with the process.

“Each of them monitors two or three villages to identify what needs to be done and what we can provide to help them boost production. Every day, they report to the officials in Jakarta who will then take proper actions,” he said.

The government also plans to convert more swamps into rice fields this year by installing a drainage system so that water can be evenly distributed. Swamp areas are mostly under water and become suitable for planting only during the dry season, when water levels drop, he said. The target is to convert 500,000 hectares of swamps into farmland this year, up from 350,000 hectares in 2024. BLOOMBERG