These Are the Business Types That Use the Most Wheat Flour in Indonesia in 2023

Data from the Indonesian Wheat Flour Producers Association (Aptindo), processed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), maps the use of wheat flour by companies in Indonesia.

The largest users are large-to-medium-sized and modern flour-using industries, accounting for 29% of total flour consumption. The USDA states that these include several public companies, with advanced production facilities and professional management, growing in line with increasing demand.

"These producers include instant noodle manufacturers, high-end bakeries, and cake and biscuit producers," the USDA wrote in its report, cited on Thursday (April 18, 2024).

This large-to-medium-scale industry's usage is equivalent to one-third of national flour consumption. However, the remaining two-thirds comes from Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The USDA explains that this group comprises traditionally managed, family-owned, and community-oriented businesses.

"This group includes small-scale noodle makers, street vendors, low-end bread and bun businesses, and traditional Indonesian cake makers," said the USDA.

The breakdown is as follows: bread MSMEs use 23%; flour retail MSMEs 21%; wet noodle MSMEs 10%; traditional cake MSMEs 6%; biscuit MSMEs 4%; pancake MSMEs 2%; cake MSMEs 2%; pastry MSMEs 1%.

However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, when wheat prices soared, MSMEs with limited capital struggled to survive.

"Bakeries selling bread for Rp2,000 were forced to raise their prices. Some MSMEs were forced to close," said the USDA.

The USDA believes that wheat flour consumption will grow as more Western, Korean, and Japanese food trends are introduced to Indonesia, such as Japanese cheese cakes and Korean cheese bread.

High rice prices will also increase instant noodle consumption. The World Instant Noodles Association reported on May 13, 2022, that Indonesian instant noodle consumption in 2022 increased to 13.27 billion packages from 12.64 billion packages in 2020.

(Also read: [Indonesia's Wheat Import Trend, the Main Ingredient in Wheat Flour Production](https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2024/04/18/tren-impor-gandum-indonesia-bahan-utama-pembuat-tepung-terigu))