Amran: Malaysia Wants to Import 500,000 Tonnes of Indonesian Rice

JAKARTA - Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman stated that Malaysian businessmen intend to import 500,000 tonnes of Indonesian rice.

Amran noted that these businessmen had previously imported maize from Indonesia and are now interested in the country’s rice products.

The businessmen directly approached Amran while he was speaking at the Food Self-Sufficiency Dialogue at the Ramokalisari Warehouse, rented by Bulog in Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday (13/5/2026).

“Well, here’s a brother from Malaysia who happened to be here. He’s requesting 500,000 tonnes of rice,” said Amran.

Amran explained that the current Government Rice Reserves (CBP) stock exceeds 5 million tonnes.

In fact, Bulog’s warehouse capacity is only 3 million tonnes. As a result, Bulog has had to rent 2 million tonnes of storage from private parties.

“If this data isn’t accurate, where’s the Bulog head? He’d be imprisoned. Straight away. No need for a long investigation. Straight to jail,” Amran remarked.

The businessmen emphasised that due to the abundant rice stocks throughout 2025 until now, the government is no longer importing medium-quality rice.

This situation has caused global rice market prices to fall from $660 US dollars (USD) to $380-340 up to $380 USD per tonne.

“Because Indonesia suddenly stopped importing 7 million tonnes two years in a row,” he said.

“Indonesia is the world’s largest rice importer and suddenly stops. Of course, prices drop, right?” Amran added.