National Food Agency Head Urges Task Force to Sweep Rice Sales to Ensure Compliance with Price Ceilings
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), who also serves as the Minister of Agriculture, Andi Amran Sulaiman, has requested the Rice Price and Quality Supervision Task Force to conduct ‘sweeping’ operations on rice sales to ensure they comply with the maximum retail price (HET) set by the government.
Amran has called on all directors within Bapanas to take responsibility for monitoring rice price reductions until December 2026, ensuring that the public can purchase rice at fair prices in accordance with the HET.
“The current task is to check rice prices until December, and all directors (of Bapanas) are responsible for how to lower prices (in accordance with the HET). Conduct sweeps. Issue warnings. Everyone must move and immediately issue warnings if there are violations,” Amran confirmed in Jakarta on Tuesday.
He requested that the Rice Price and Quality Supervision Task Force strengthen oversight to maintain supply stability and protect the public from fraudulent practices. Supervision will focus on rice prices to ensure neither medium nor premium rice violates the HET.
“The end goal is to squeeze the mafias; there must be no price violations. The essence is to lower prices; everyone must move and monitor prices. Rice prices must not be above the HET. Check the markets immediately,” said Amran.
The government previously established the 2026 Rice Price and Quality Supervision Task Force through the Decree of the Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Number 369 of 2026.
The task force involves various parties, including Bapanas, the Indonesian National Police Food Task Force, Perum Bulog, and local governments.
Amran stated that the deployment of the task force is a firm step by the government to regularise the rice situation, which is currently experiencing price fluctuations.
He instructed his staff to focus on inspecting rice price conditions in 13 provinces until December 2026.
Furthermore, he demanded enforcement actions ranging from warnings to business closures for those proven to have ignored warnings and continued to violate the HET.
“If shops are reprimanded, carry out the closure of rogue shops. This includes fortified rice, as well as premium and medium rice, if they are priced above the limit. They must not be allowed to sell. Revoke their permits, because the continuous price increases are causing unrest,” Amran added.
The 13 provinces targeted by the Rice Price and Quality Supervision Task Force operations until the end of the year include DKI Jakarta, Banten, West Java, Central Java, D.I. Yogyakarta, East Java, and Bali.
In Sumatra, the target areas include North Sumatra, South Sumatra, and Lampung. Additionally, the operation will target South Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, and West Nusa Tenggara.
“I am pursuing this in agriculture because if there is no rice, whatever Bapanas does will not succeed. There is plenty of rice now, and we cannot afford to fail. Therefore, we must manage it from upstream to downstream. The upstream is already good; the downstream must also be good,” he said.
Under the zoning regulations of the National Food Agency, the HET for medium rice ranges from Rp13,500 to Rp15,500 per kilogram, depending on the sales region across Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the HET for premium rice ranges from Rp14,900 to Rp15,800 per kilogram, also adjusted according to the specific zones.