Top 10 Provinces with the Most Expensive Rice in Indonesia, Friday, September 20, 2024

Based on data from the National Strategic Food Price Information Center (PIHPS) of Bank Indonesia (BI), the national average price of rice reached Rp15,250 per kilogram (kg) on Friday (20/9/2024). This is a slight decrease from Thursday (19/9/2024), when the price was Rp15,300.

By grade, the average price of low-quality rice I was Rp14,000 per kg, and low-quality rice II was Rp13,850 per kg.

For other grades, the average price of medium-quality rice I was Rp15,250 and medium-quality rice II was Rp15,200 per kg. Super I quality rice was Rp16,600, and super II quality rice was Rp16,200 per kg.

However, ten Indonesian provinces had the highest average rice prices nationwide on this day.

Central Kalimantan topped the list at Rp18,450 per kg, exceeding the average price across all rice grades. South Kalimantan followed at Rp17,000 per kg.

West Papua was third at Rp16,800 per kg. North Maluku and North Kalimantan followed with the same average price of Rp16,700 per kg.

The remaining provinces include East Kalimantan, down to East Nusa Tenggara.

According to *Katadata*, the World Bank found that rice prices in Indonesia are up to 20% higher than in the global market. This phenomenon is attributed to the government's tightening of rice trade regulations.

Carolyn Turk, World Bank Country Director for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, explained that this tightening was implemented through non-tariff policies. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that the average tariff on agricultural imports to Indonesia decreased from 20% in the 1990s to 5.9% in 2020.

"The Indonesian government has raised non-tariff trade standards to protect the national agricultural industry. 95% of the food sector is regulated by non-tariff policies, such as tightening import quotas," Turk said at the Indonesia International Rice Conference 2024 on Thursday (19/9/2024).

Turk cited other examples of non-tariff policies used to restrict food imports, such as technical sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and surprise inspections by authorities. She believes that the limited import of rice has resulted in higher domestic prices.

The National Food Agency (Bapanas) acknowledges that domestic rice prices are higher than global market prices. This is due to higher production costs for rice farmers, particularly for fertilizers.

Rachmi Widiriani, Director of Distribution and Food Reserves at Bapanas, stated that high production costs necessitate higher selling prices for farmers. Therefore, Rachmi believes that efficiency improvements in domestic rice production are necessary to lower prices.

"With efficiency, farmer productivity will increase, and they will ultimately profit from good prices. Thus, rice prices will gradually stabilize," Rachmi said at the *Indonesia International Rice Conference 2024* on Thursday (19/9/2024).

The following are the 10 provinces with the highest average rice prices per kilogram nationwide on Friday (20/9/2024):

* Central Kalimantan Rp18,450
* South Kalimantan Rp17,000
* West Papua Rp16,800
* North Kalimantan Rp16,700
* North Maluku Rp16,700
* East Kalimantan Rp16,350
* West Kalimantan Rp16,300
* Maluku Rp16,200
* Riau Rp16,050
* East Nusa Tenggara Rp15,400

(Also read: National Rice Production Predicted to Surge in August-October 2024)