Middle East Conflict: Bulog's Rice Exports Await BAIS-BIN Assessment

Jakarta — The export of 2,280 tonnes of rice by PT Perum Bulog to Saudi Arabia is awaiting assessment by the Indonesian National Armed Forces Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN). Bulog President Director Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani said the shipment is scheduled to depart on Saturday, 7 March 2026. He noted that the Middle East region is tense following the war between Iran and Israel and the United States. ‘We are following the geopolitical developments there,’ he said during a visit to Bulog’s warehouse complex for the DKI & Banten Regional Office in Kelapa Gading Barat, North Jakarta, on Wednesday, 4 March 2026. Bulog has asked the two intelligence agencies and the Foreign Ministry to assess the situation along the shipping route to Saudi Arabia. ‘We have also written to BAIS TNI, to BIN, and then to the Foreign Ministry seeking an assessment of the departure of Indonesia’s haj rice,’ Rizal said. ‘We are awaiting further information from the assessments by these three institutions.’ Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman hopes the export shipment can proceed safely. The Iran–Israel–US conflict continues in the Gulf region, including the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Arabian Sea. The Strait of Hormuz, which links these waters, is currently closed by Iran.