Indonesia's Wheat Import Trend, the Main Ingredient for Flour Production

Data from Indonesia's Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) shows that Indonesia imported more than 9 million kilograms (kg) of wheat and meslin seeds annually from 2017 to 2023.

In 2017, imports of wheat and meslin seeds reached 11.22 million kg, with an import value of US$2.6 billion.

The volume then decreased by approximately 10.17% to 10.08 million kg in 2018. However, imports increased by 5.76% to 10.66 million kg in 2019.

In 2020, the volume of wheat and meslin imports decreased by 3.53% to 10.28 million kg. The following year, wheat shipments to Indonesia increased by 8.6% to 11.17 million kg.

Unfortunately, in 2022, the volume of wheat and meslin imports plummeted by 16.3% to 9.35 million kg, the lowest shipment in the last seven years.

However, the latest data for 2023 shows a resilient 13.21% increase in import volume to 10.58 million kg, with an import value of US$3.66 billion.

Wheat supplying countries to Indonesia include Australia, Canada, Ukraine, the United States, and Russia.

(Read also: Australia, the Largest Wheat Importer to Indonesia in 2023)

Wheat is the main ingredient in flour production. Currently, flour production is threatened.

According to Katadata, the Indonesian Flour Producers Association (Aptindo) reports that the availability of fortifying premixes, or flour improvers, for the national flour industry is dwindling, potentially leading to flour shortages.

Aptindo Chairman Franciscus Welirang stated that the availability of fortifying premixes from each member of the national flour industry is only sufficient until June 2024. These fortifying premixes, which are imported, are currently obtained by flour industry players through domestic distributors.

However, changes in import regulations under the Ministry of Trade Regulation (Permendag) Number 36 of 2023 have impacted the procurement of fortifying premixes. This is because the product is included in the list of restricted import goods.

Aptindo has proposed removing fortifying premixes from the list of restricted import goods (lartas). The Director of Imports at the Ministry of Trade, Arif Sulistiyo, stated that his office has received Aptindo's letter regarding the dwindling availability of fortifying premixes for the national flour industry.

"In principle, we agree and will follow up on the proposal. We will include it in the revision of Permendag 36; we are currently drafting a revision of Permendag 36 of 2023," said Arif on Wednesday (April 17, 2024), as quoted by Katadata from Antara.

(Read Katadata: National Flour Production Threatened, Ministry of Trade to Revise Import Regulations)