Early this year, the Indonesian government announced it would import 2 million tons of rice. The instruction is recorded in an official letter from the National Food Agency (Bapanas) dated March 24, 2023.
In its letter, Bapanas stated, "We assign Perum Bulog to procure government rice reserves from abroad, amounting to 2 million tons until the end of December 2023. The procurement of the first 500,000 tons will be carried out as soon as possible," as reported by *Katadata*, Monday (March 27, 2023).
The plan to import 2 million tons of rice is considered large for Indonesia, even setting a record as the highest in the last five years.
Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), during the 2019-2022 period, the national rice import volume averaged only 409,000 tons per year, approximately five times lower than the planned import for 2023.
The 2 million-ton rice import is also significant on a global scale.
Compared to rice import data from other countries compiled by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), in 2023 Indonesia became the 5th largest rice importer in the world.
Above Indonesia are the Philippines, China, Iraq, and Nigeria, while imports from other countries are smaller, as shown in the graph.
Furthermore, Indonesia has the potential to climb the ranks. In early October 2023, President Jokowi mentioned plans to increase rice imports in the last quarter of this year.
"The stock (of rice) currently held by Bulog is 1.7 million tons, and we are adding more, until the end of the year approximately (additional rice imports) 1.5 million tons," said Jokowi while inspecting a rice harvest in Subang, West Java, Monday (October 9, 2023).
"Why are we adding (rice imports) 1.5 million tons? Because El Niño is affecting production and yields," he continued.