Rupiah at 18,000: Noodles, Milk, and Tofu Could Become More Expensive
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The pressure on the Rupiah exchange rate is once again in the spotlight. On Thursday’s trading (June 4, 2026), the Rupiah officially broke the psychological level of Rp18,000 per US dollar, opening up the risk of rising import costs for various strategic commodities that Indonesia still needs.
Referring to Refinitiv data, at 09.11 WIB, the Rupiah was at the level of Rp18,015/US, weakeningby0.42.
The weakening of the Rupiah is a concern because Indonesia still relies on foreign supplies for a number of major food ingredients.
When the dollar strengthens, import costs, as reflected in the CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) value, also increase, potentially putting pressure on the prices of raw materials to finished products in the country.
Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that throughout January-March 2026, cereals were Indonesia’s largest imported food commodity.
This group, which includes wheat, corn, and rice, reached 3.79 million tons with a CIF value of US1.04billion, orapproximatelyRp18.8trillion, usingtheexchangerateofRp18, 015/US. Wheat is one of the main raw materials for the flour industry, which is then used to produce instant noodles, bread, biscuits, and various processed foods.
The increase in wheat and soybeans could burden Indonesian citizens.
Wheat is a raw material for instant noodles, while soybeans are a raw material for tofu.
Below that, there are oilcakes and residues from the food and feed industry, reaching 2.39 million tons with a value of US$948.4 million. This group is dominated by feed ingredients such as soybean meal, which supports the national poultry industry. The increase in import costs for these commodities has the potential to spread to the production costs of chicken and eggs.
Indonesia also still imports seeds and oilseeds, including soybeans, as much as 866,9 thousand tons with a value of US$536.5 million. Soybeans are the main raw material for tofu and tempeh, which are consumed by almost all levels of society.
At the same time, imports of sugar and sugar products reached 1.02 million tons with a value of US$499.5 million. The large volume indicates that the national sugar needs cannot yet be fully met from domestic production.
Other commodities that also recorded large import values are dairy products, eggs, and honey with a value of US$415.7 million. Dependence on imported raw materials has been one of the challenges for the national dairy processing industry because domestic fresh milk production has not been able to catch up with industrial needs.
Meanwhile, imports of fruits and nuts were recorded at 281.2 thousand tons with a value of US$537 million. The value is even higher than sugar and milk. In addition, there are imports of vegetables and tubers worth US$212.7 million and meat and offal worth US$138 million in the first three months of this year.
CNBC Indonesia Research