Agriculture Minister Assures No Rice Price Increase Despite Packaging Cost Issues

Karawang, West Java - Agriculture Minister and Head of the National Food Agency Andi Amran Sulaiman has emphasised that there will be no increase in rice prices amid issues concerning rising logistics and plastic packaging costs. Amran explained that the government is maintaining rice price stability through established pricing policies, including Stabilisation of Supply and Price of Food Staples (SPHP) rice as a market balancing instrument. “There is a HET (highest retail price). So there is a highest retail price. We ask all trader friends not to raise prices above the HET,” he said during a visit to the Bulog warehouse stock in Karawang, West Java, on Thursday. According to him, SPHP rice prices have not increased and are being maintained to anticipate potential price surges at the consumer level due to various external factors. He noted that in the last two years, rice has no longer been the main contributor to national inflation, unlike previous conditions where it often ranked at the top of inflation causes. “We shouldn’t use feelings, we should use the inflation contribution ratio. In the past two years, rice has not been the main contributor to inflation. Previously it was always number one, two, three. Now it’s not the main contributor to inflation, so we use data. Our SPHP price remains the same as now,” Amran stressed. Besides SPHP, the government is also relying on the highest retail price (HET) policy for medium and premium rice to keep market rice prices under control. He emphasised that the situation differs from the past when Indonesia still depended on rice imports, which were often used as a reason for price increases in the domestic market. According to him, Indonesia’s food market conditions have unique characteristics that require government policy interventions to keep prices stable and affordable for the public. Amran cited the experience with cooking oil commodities, which once saw price increases despite Indonesia being the world’s largest producer. He mentioned that there are currently 76 suspects in cases related to rice, fertiliser, and Minyakita brand cooking oil, which overall have caused losses to farmers estimated at Rp3.3 trillion. On the supply side, Amran stated that the government’s rice reserve stock (CBP) managed by Perum Bulog has reached 5.198 million tonnes as of 23 April 2026. He said this achievement is the highest in Indonesia’s history, especially for the April period, thus further strengthening national food resilience. It is known that the highest retail price (HET) for medium rice according to government regulations is Rp13,500 per kilogram (kg), while the HET for premium rice is Rp14,900 per kg. Meanwhile, SPHP rice is sold according to the HET, namely Rp12,500 per kilogram for zone 1 (Java, Lampung, South Sumatra, Bali, NTB, Sulawesi); Rp13,100 per kilogram for zone 2 (Sumatra excluding Lampung and South Sumatra, NTT, Kalimantan); and Rp13,500 per kilogram for zone 3 (Maluku, Papua).