Bulog: Rice Exports to Saudi Arabia Are Super Premium

JAKARTA, Kompas.com - Bulog’s President Director, Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani, said that 2,280 tonnes of rice exported to Saudi Arabia are of the super premium variety. The rice was shipped to meet the needs of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims and Hajj officials for the year 1447 AH.

‘In our view, this is the super premium rice that Bulog has ever produced,’ Ramdhani said at the Bulog Warehouse Complex of the DKI & Banten Regional Office, North Jakarta, on Wednesday (4 February 2026).

He added that the premium rice normally produced by Bulog has a breakage rate of 15 per cent. ‘This, in our view, is the best rice Bulog has produced so far,’ he said.

He noted that the exported rice is valued at Rp 38 billion and has received government subsidies.

Bulog is selling the super premium rice at Rp 16,000 per kilogram. By comparison, domestic premium rice prices in the market range from Rp 19,000 to Rp 25,000 per kilogram.

‘We still have some subsidies and so on. The aim at present is promotional,’ Ramdhani said.

If Indonesian pulen rice is deemed suitable for the Saudi market servicing Hajj and Umrah pilgrims from Indonesia, by Saudi businessmen, the exports are expected to continue.

Bulog sees a promising share of the local rice market in Saudi Arabia. Besides the Hajj pilgrims, the number of Umrah pilgrims and Indonesian residents in Saudi Arabia each year reaches 2 million people.

‘So the export opportunity is significant, but going forward the concept will be commercial, not like now,’ Ramdhani said.

Bulog plans to dispatch the 2,280 tonnes of rice on Saturday (27 February 2026).