Indonesia Exports Super Premium Rice to Saudi Arabia, Priced at Rp16,000 per Kilogram

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The government is exporting super premium rice to Saudi Arabia for the consumption of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims. The rice is sold at Rp16,000 per kilogram due to government subsidies.

Bulog’s Chief Executive Officer, Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani, said the total rice exported amounts to 2,280 tonnes, in line with the Ministry of Hajj’s request and about 215,000 Indonesian Hajj pilgrims this year.

‘The total Hajj rice export is 2,280 tonnes. This aligns with the request from the Hajj Ministry, corresponding to the number of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims this year, which is around 215,000,’ Ramdhani said at Bulog’s Kelapa Gading warehouse, Jakarta, on Wednesday, 4 March 2026.

He explained that the exported rice is from the new harvest, not old stock in Bulog’s warehouses. After harvest, the paddy is processed at facilities into premium rice.

Ramdhani noted that the quality of the shipped rice even exceeds Bulog’s premium rice standards. The broken rice rate is very low and the moisture content is better maintained.

‘This is premium rice with a breakage rate below 5%, even 4%. The moisture content is below 14%. So in our view, this is super premium rice Bulog has produced. Previously Bulog’s premium rice had a breakage rate of 15%,’ he said.

He also stated that this export is a first step for Indonesian rice to enter the Middle East market.

‘Thank God this is our entry point, so this first export is our entry point. If you like to sell, it’s like a promo; the hope is profits later in the commercial phase when we ship for Umrah pilgrims and residents in Saudi Arabia,’ he explained.

Furthermore, he said the Saudi market potential for Indonesian rice is substantial, given around 2 million people travel for Umrah each year and the Indonesian community living in the country.

‘Because the potential there is about nearly 2 million people who perform Umrah annually, and the mukimin in Saudi Arabia. The potential will continue,’ Ramdhani said.

In terms of transaction value, the exported rice is expected to reach almost Rp38 billion.

‘When you add it up, the total is almost Rp38 billion,’ he added.

The rice shipments carry the Be Food brand, in accordance with the specifications requested by the Saudi government. The price for Hajj pilgrims is set at Rp16,000 per kilogram due to government subsidies.

‘Yes, because this is for our pilgrims, so the price to pilgrims is Rp16,000 per kilogram due to government subsidies,’ he concluded.