Amran Acknowledges Rising Rice Prices, Outlines Key Contributing Factors
Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman has acknowledged that rice prices have experienced an increase, even though the commodity was previously no longer a contributor to inflation. He subsequently analysed several factors related to this price rise.
Amran stated that the increase in rice prices was identified during an inflation control meeting with the Minister of Home Affairs. The government is immediately evaluating the situation to keep rice prices under control while simultaneously protecting the interests of both farmers and consumers.
“There is an issue currently; according to the Minister of Home Affairs during the inflation meeting, there has been a slight increase in rice prices. Previously, rice was no longer a contributor to inflation, but now that there is an increase, we are attempting to dissect why this is happening,” said the Minister during an exposition of findings regarding fortified rice at the Ministry of Agriculture Headquarters, Jakarta, on Tuesday (15/09/2026).
Amran explained that one of the government’s steps is to accelerate food assistance to 33.4 million households. This acceleration is being carried out under presidential orders to ensure that food aid reaches the public promptly.
“First, we are implementing free food assistance. Food assistance for 33.4 million households. We are accelerating this process as per the President’s instruction,” he said.
The next step involves the distribution of the Food Supply and Price Stabilisation (SPHP) programme. The government has decided to increase the SPHP supply by 1 million tonnes to be used in market operations to suppress rising rice prices.
“Secondly, regarding SPHP, we are adding 1 million tonnes. We have decided to increase this to conduct market operations so that prices do not rise,” Amran said.
According to the official, who also serves as the Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), the government must manage rice prices from two perspectives. Prices at the farmer level must be maintained to prevent a drastic drop, while the prices paid by consumers must also be regulated to prevent them from becoming too high.
“We must protect both. We must protect our farmers’ prices so they do not drop drastically, and we must also protect the prices for our 286 million consumers so they do not become too high,” Amran stated.
He noted that there are approximately 116 million rice farmers whose interests must be protected alongside those of the consumers. Therefore, the government is striving to maintain price equilibrium to avoid harming either farmers or the public.
During the evaluation, Amran also discovered another factor involving what are deemed to be unreasonable rice prices. He linked this to the suspected shifting of issues from premium rice to products being marketed as fortified rice.
“It turns out there is an allegation of a shift from premium to fortified rice. They claim it is fortified. However, after checking with four credible laboratories, we found that it does not match the label,” he said.
Amran highlighted that the price of these products is significantly higher than they should be. According to him, some products that should be sold at approximately Rp 13,500 per kilogram were found being sold for up to Rp 57,000 per kilogram.
“The price should be Rp 13,500, but some are being sold for up to Rp 57,000 per kilogram. To put it bluntly, this is a form of fraud, with an average increase of around Rp 22,000 per kilogram,” he remarked.
He emphasised that these pricing issues cannot be separated from the objectives of the fortification programme. Fortified rice is intended for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, communities facing stunting issues, and the poor; therefore, excessively high prices could hinder the programme’s goals.
Amran stated that the government will continue to intervene to maintain the balance of rice prices. An additional 1 million tonnes of SPHP is being prepared for market operations, while the acceleration of food assistance is being implemented to ensure public needs are met.
The government also continues to investigate the suspected irregularities in fortified rice based on laboratory results and field findings. These steps are expected to ensure that rice prices remain affordable for consumers without depressing the prices received by farmers.