Indonesia has halted rice imports and amassed a record stockpile of 3.7 million tons, the largest since the state logistics agency Bulog was founded in 1967, the country’s Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman declared on Tuesday.
The reserves exceed the typical limit of about 2 million tons and are sufficient to meet domestic rice demand, Amran stated during the launch of a government rice distribution program in Jayapura, Papua.
He previously confirmed that Indonesia will not import rice until the end of 2025.
He stated that all rice currently available in the market is sourced locally and added that the government has expanded paddy fields, including new cultivation areas in Papua, to maintain supply.
To support the development of new rice fields, the government is supplying farming equipment like hand tractors and constructing storage warehouses to keep harvests before distributing them to communities.
Amran, who also serves as chief of the National Food Agency, stated that the government has committed substantial resources to boost food production, with a focus on eastern Indonesia.
Authorities plan to develop 20,000 hectares of rice fields in Papua this year as part of a larger initiative to open up 100,000 hectares overall, backed by an estimated budget of roughly Rp3 trillion ($195 million).
He stated that the Agriculture Ministry is prepared to assist the Papua provincial government in fast-tracking rice field expansion to increase local production.
Amran was in Jayapura to officially launch the government’s rice distribution program, aimed at stabilizing food supply and prices across six provinces in the Papua region.
GLOBAL ROUNDUP | Global Trade to Hit Record $35 Trillion Despite Slower Growth – UNCTAD
