Not just to Malaysia: Indonesia to export rice to many countries — when?

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — Deputy Minister of Agriculture (Wamentan) Sudaryono has revealed that Indonesia’s rice exports will not be limited to Malaysia alone, but will also go to several other countries. Sudaryono stated that there are three other countries besides Malaysia that will receive Indonesian rice, namely Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Algeria. In addition, he and Bulog have exported special rice to Palestine and Saudi Arabia, with 10,000 tonnes exported to Palestine for the needs of Palestinians and 2,000 tonnes exported to Saudi Arabia for the needs of the Hajj pilgrims.

“Rice for export, besides Malaysia, there is Papua New Guinea, then we hear Timor-Leste, including Algeria as well. It seems there is demand there,” Sudaryono told reporters at the DPR building, on Tuesday (19/5/2026).

However, he did not detail when the rice could be exported because it must be calculated carefully so domestic needs are not affected.

“But again, all exports will of course be calculated carefully, so we do not sacrifice domestic needs,” he added.

He explained that export negotiations had already begun this year. Nevertheless, the government is still refining the Business-to-Business (B2B) process, especially regarding price agreements so as not to harm the state finances. He targets that rice exports this year can run in tandem with domestic stockpiles that are abundant until the end of the year.

“Yes, we have already approached several countries; this export requires commercial calculations, the price must not be too high, and Bulog must not incur losses,” Sudaryono said.

Sudaryono also said that 500,000 tonnes of rice have been allocated for export, so it is hoped this rice will not interfere with domestic needs, even though domestic conditions remain abundant, reaching 5.37 million tonnes as of today.

“We have allocated around 500,000 tonnes that we have set aside for export needs,” he said.