Deputy Agriculture Minister states national food security remains assured amid Iran-US conflict
Jakarta — Indonesia’s Deputy Agriculture Minister Sudaryono has affirmed that the nation’s food security remains stable despite ongoing tensions from the Iran-United States conflict.
“Food security is assured thus far. We have achieved self-sufficiency. Our productivity is solid. Food is fundamentally an important pillar in difficult circumstances. Safety alone is crucial, especially in challenging situations. Our stocks are secure, so I believe there are no significant issues to date,” Sudaryono stated in Jakarta on Thursday.
Regarding food commodities that Indonesia continues to import, the minister noted that the government has implemented diversification of import sources for food commodities not affected by the Iran-US conflict, such as wheat from the United States.
“We are diversifying our sourcing for imports. For example, wheat is a major import item that we cannot produce domestically. There are many sourcing options for wheat imports, one of which is the United States. The US supply route is not affected by the conflict. I believe that, to date, we see no significant obstacles,” Sudaryono explained.
The calculation is based on various sources of national food reserves, including rice stocks managed by state-owned enterprise Perum Bulog, reserves held in the hotel, restaurant, and café (horeca) sector, and the production potential of crops currently growing in agricultural lands.
Current rice stocks managed by Bulog stand at approximately 3.7 million tonnes, supplemented by horeca sector reserves exceeding 12 million tonnes and standing crop potential of around 10–11 million tonnes. Overall, these reserves are estimated to meet national food requirements for the next 324 days.
Through various preventive measures implemented by the government alongside all stakeholders, including Perum Bulog, national food supply is expected to remain secure and capable of meeting the needs of communities throughout Indonesia.