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World wants Indonesian rice, but that could prove difficult
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A farmer uses a combine harvester at his rice farm in Somba Opu district, Gowa regency, South Sulawesi, on March 22, 2022. (Antara/Arnas Padda)
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everal countries have asked Indonesia for rice, hoping the world's third-largest producer of the grain can help them overcome shortages at home, but experts and farmers see little chance of Indonesia becoming a major exporter in the foreseeable future.
At least 200,000 tons of rice would be set aside for exports this year, following requests from abroad, Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto said on June 15.
Those requests come after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was appointed on April 13 as a member of the so-called Champions of the Global Crisis Response Group (GCRG) formed by the United Nations a month earlier to solve a global crisis in food, energy and finance.
If the plan materializes, it will be the first major rice shipment out of the country in two decades. In recent years, Indonesia has only exported small amounts of rice, mostly premium varieties.
“Our stock is ample. So, it is enough. The surplus could be sent to other countries,” National Food Agency (NFA) chief Arief Prasetyo told The Jakarta Post on Monday. Established last July, the NFA is responsible for coordinating, formulating and implementing government policies on food availability, quality, prices, diversification and supply.
Indonesia is the world's third-largest rice producer, after China and India, according to World Economic Forum (WEF) data from 2019, but the country uses most of its stock to secure domestic supply at stable prices.
Indonesia typically imports between 300,000 and 400,000 tons annually, but sometimes also larger amounts, such as 2.2 million tons in 2018, according to UN Comtrade figures.
