Amran Announces Record New Government Rice Reserves, Set to Rise Again

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman has announced that the national rice reserve stock now stands at 4.3 million tonnes. He stated that this figure is the highest in Indonesia’s history.

“This figure surpasses the previous record of 4.2 million tonnes. This achievement affirms the increasingly strong position of national food security amid global dynamics. This is the highest in history. Even next month, we estimate it could reach 5 million tonnes,” he said after a downstreaming meeting with Food SOEs at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Central Office, Jakarta, on Monday (30/3/2026).

According to him, this surge has also impacted the stability of food prices, particularly during the Ramadan month. He emphasised that rice, which has been the main contributor to inflation over the past 10-20 years, is no longer putting pressure on inflation.

“Alhamdulillah, this year’s Ramadan rice prices are under control and not contributing to inflation as in previous years,” Amran said in his statement.

Therefore, Amran continued, national storage capacity needs to be expanded. From a total warehouse capacity of around 3 million tonnes, the government is taking anticipatory steps by renting additional warehouses with a capacity of up to 2 million tonnes.

Bulog President Director Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani added that the trend of increasing stock is still ongoing. Currently, the rice stock has reached 4.3 million tonnes and is targeted to increase to 4.5 million tonnes by the end of the month.

“The absorption is also very high. From January to March, it has reached 1.3 million tonnes. This is the highest in history, it has never happened before in a three-month period,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Agriculture Minister Sudaryono stated that Indonesia has now achieved self-sufficiency in several strategic commodities, including rice and corn for feed, as well as surpluses in chicken and egg commodities.

He also emphasised that the development of agriculture-based bioenergy is one of the keys to driving national energy independence.

“Under President Prabowo Subianto’s direction, we are not only achieving food self-sufficiency but also moving towards energy self-sufficiency,” he said.