According to data collected by Statistics Indonesia (BPS), rice production is expected to decrease by 2.43 percent this year.

Arief Prasetyo Adi, director of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), said historical data indicated a year-on-year decline in production between December and February, which would increase pressure on rice stocks .

“There will be additional (imports) of a million tonnes. This (figure of) 1 million tonnes of course takes into account the (expected domestic production), as well as the number of reserves that we have to build up until February (2025),” Arief said on Tuesday, as reported by Bisnis.com.

Arief added that the government is currently trying to strengthen domestic production.

“We have all tried (to get more rice) from domestic production, but BPS projections indicate that (production) is insufficient. We must have reserves,” Arief said.

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Rice is one of the most monitored and regulated commodities in the archipelago given its status as the number one basic commodity in terms of consumption. Despite this, domestic production often fails to meet domestic demand, and when this happens, the government tends to source rice from abroad to ensure price stability.