Fake Premium Rice Sold for Rp17,000, Amran Speaks Out!
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The Minister of Agriculture/Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), Amran Sulaiman, has uncovered fraudulent practices in the premium rice distribution chain that are estimated to harm consumers by trillions of rupiah. He stated that low-quality rice is being sold at high prices as if it were premium rice.
Amran revealed that these findings come from laboratory tests on rice circulating in the market. He assessed these practices not merely as mixing, but as serious fraud.
“Now, it’s not just middlemen. There’s a mafia, I’ll add that first. This mafia is before the middlemen. Because they’re inside. The other day, it was mixing, mixing, mixing. Not mixing, stealing. I checked this in the lab, all this rice from the middlemen earlier,” said Amran while inspecting rice at the JDP Karawang 1 Logistic Park warehouse in West Java, on Thursday (23/4/2026).
He explained that the standard for premium rice should have a maximum broken rice content of 14%. However, field findings showed figures far exceeding that limit.
“If it’s premium, 14% broken. What we caught is 34%-59% (broken). Meaning Rp12,000 price sold for Rp17,000 (per kg),” he clarified.
Based on the data he presented, the broken rice levels in several samples ranged from 33% to 59%. With such quality, the fair price is estimated at around Rp12,000 per kg, but in the market, it is sold for up to Rp17,000 per kg.
The price difference of about Rp5,000 per kg, if multiplied by a consumption volume of 2 million tonnes, could result in consumer losses of up to Rp10 trillion.
Amran emphasised that this practice is part of the food mafia chain that is currently being addressed alongside the National Police’s Food Task Force.
“So in total, everything sold is Rp100 trillion. If we sell 2 million, it’s not profiting by cheating the people, understand? That’s Rp10 trillion. This is what’s been caught, and they’ve already been imprisoned. Clear? That’s entering the middlemen,” he explained.
He also questioned which party is truly harming the public: the government’s crackdown efforts or the mafia practices in the food sector.
“My question is, which is cruel? Eradicating 100 people (harming the public) or (cheating) 1,000 people? I’m pushing one by one with the Food Task Force. Guess who’s cruel here,” he asserted.
The government assures that it will continue to tighten supervision of rice distribution, particularly on quality and selling prices in the market, to protect consumers from fraudulent practices that cause harm.