Bulog Absorbs 2.4 Million Tonnes of Farmers' Paddy Equivalent to Rice

Bulog’s President Director, Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani, stated that by early mid-May 2026, the absorption of farmers’ paddy in the domestic market has reached 2.4 million tonnes equivalent to rice, aimed at strengthening the government’s rice reserves (CBP). Rizal noted that this achievement forms part of the national target of 4 million tonnes equivalent to rice in 2026, as mandated by the government to support food security and domestic supply stability. “And as of 6 May, we have already reached more than 2.4 million tonnes. So, we are nearly at around 60 percent of the total target of 4 million tonnes,” Rizal said in Jakarta on Wednesday, as reported by Antara. He emphasised this during a discussion with several executives from the All-Indonesian Student Executive Body (BEM SI) while directly inspecting the actual condition of the government’s rice reserve stocks managed at the Bulog Sunter Warehouse in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. Rizal explained that Bulog implements a policy of absorbing paddy and rice with certain quality standards, namely only harvests that have reached optimal age to maintain the quality of the resulting product. This approach ensures that the absorbed rice has good maturity levels, thereby producing higher quality when processed and stored for a certain period. Bulog currently manages a widespread network of warehouses across Indonesia to store government rice reserves as part of the food distribution and stabilisation system. He mentioned that the total number of owned warehouses reaches 1,555 units with a storage capacity of around 3.7 million tonnes, so some additional needs are met through renting external warehouses. To accommodate the increase in stocks, Bulog rents additional facilities with a capacity approaching 2 million tonnes to ensure that all absorbed farmers’ paddy can be properly accommodated. The government is also supporting the construction of 100 new warehouses in 2026, prioritised in frontier regions such as Nias, Natuna, and Morotai to strengthen national logistics distribution. This step is also aimed at reaching areas that do not yet have adequate storage facilities, so that the distribution of rice reserves can be more even and efficient. Overall, Rizal added, the national rice stocks managed by the state-owned food company currently reach around 5.23 million tonnes and are deemed sufficient to maintain food security until next year. Bulog affirms that all stored rice belongs to the government as national food reserves, consisting of premium and medium rice for price stabilisation needs and public assistance.