BPS Records May 2026 Paddy Production Falls to 4.92 Million Tonnes GKG

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded that the actual paddy harvest area in May 2026 reached 0.96 million hectares, a decrease of 2.35% compared to the same period the previous year. This reduction in land area directly impacted the national production volume of paddy and rice, which also experienced a correction. BPS Deputy for Distribution and Services Statistics, Ateng Hartono, revealed that paddy production in May 2026 fell by 3.43% to 4.92 million tonnes of dry milled grain (GKG) compared to May 2025, which reached 5.09 million tonnes GKG. In line with this, rice production also shrank by 3.43% to approximately 2.84 million tonnes. ‘The potential figures mentioned earlier could change as they will depend on planting conditions throughout May and August 2026. If there are pest attacks, floods, droughts, or changes in farmers’ harvest times, it will automatically affect the harvest area and production,’ Ateng stated during a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday (1/7). Despite the decline in May, BPS projects a positive trend for the January-August 2026 period. The total harvest area is estimated to reach 8.35 million hectares, up 0.43% compared to the same period last year. The potential paddy production for the next three months (June-August) is also predicted to reach 14.61 million tonnes GKG, an increase of 1.18%. Based on analysis from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), rainfall in May 2026 was generally at a medium criterion. Ateng emphasised that the dynamics of this rainfall are a crucial factor influencing the success of paddy cultivation in various regions of Indonesia. The results of the Area Sample Framework (KSA) survey showed that the majority of agricultural land in May 2026 was in the standing crop phase, or currently planted with paddy, at 39.16%. Of this amount, 12.35% was in the generative phase, which has high potential to be harvested in June 2026. In detail, other land conditions included land planted with crops other than paddy (25.82%), land currently being harvested (12.10%), land preparation (11.62%), and fallow land (11.09%). Ateng explained that the late vegetative phase will be harvested in two months, while the early vegetative phase is projected for harvest in three months.