In a limited meeting last month, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo instructed his Cabinet to develop sorghum as a substitute for wheat. The policy decision has been taken as a move to achieve food security amid the disruption of wheat shipments from Ukraine, which has been exacerbated by trade limitations and bans imposed by wheat-exporting countries to secure their own food supply. For Indonesia, wheat is essential as it is the main ingredient for important food alternatives to rice, such as instant noodles.

According to Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko, this year sorghum will be developed in an area of ​​15,000 hectares across West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, West Java, East Java and Lampung. Then, the government aims to open another 115,000 ha of land for sorghum cultivation in 2023 and 154,000 ha more in 2024.

Currently, the pilot project for sorghum cultivation is being carried out in Waingapu, East Nusa Tenggara. Sorghum production is estimated to reach 3 to 4 tonnes per ha in the area. Meanwhile, in Java, the productivity is estimated to reach 4 to 5 tonnes per ha. With the sorghum development, the government expects to reduce wheat imports by 11 million tonnes.

The Agriculture Ministry estimates that 60 percent substitution of wheat flour to sorghum flour in biscuits and cookies can reduce wheat imports by 6.1 million tonnes, 25 percent substitution in cake products could reduce wheat imports by 2.5 million tonnes, and 35 percent substitution in noodles can reduce imports of wheat up to 3.5 million tonnes.

However, to realize that number, the government must ensure that the food-processing industry is ready to absorb sorghum and make that change. Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo said President Jokowi had agreed to make sorghum purchases a requirement to import wheat. With that, sorghum farmers are guaranteed offtakers.

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PT Indofood Sukses Makmur director Fransiscus Welirang said his side was ready to support the government in developing sorghum to substitute wheat in the production of its globally famous Indomie. Several brands of instant noodles that market themselves as healthier options have been around for the past few years, yet they have never come close to capturing the market as much as Indomie does.

What’s more

Despite being a foreign crop, wheat has made its way to become an inseparable part of Indonesian people’s diets. Wheat is processed into flour, which is then used to produce instant noodles, an important alternative to rice as the country’s staple food. Not only that, wheat flour is also used to produce various kinds of local meals and snacks.

When the Russia-Ukraine conflict arose in February and stalled grain deliveries worldwide, wheat prices soared as global supply lowered and several wheat-exporting countries, such as Argentina, Egypt, India and Serbia, began to impose limitations and even ban wheat exports.

According to the Indonesian Flour Mills Association (Aptindo), a week after the war broke out, there were 60 containers ready for shipment to Indonesia, each loading around 20 tonnes of wheat, stuck in Ukraine. This imposed a serious problem on flour producers in Indonesia as Ukraine is Indonesia’s second largest wheat import source country, supplying 3.07 million tonnes of wheat, 26.8 percent of Indonesia’s total wheat imports between January and November 2021.

As a result, Indonesia relies on wheat imports from Australia and Argentina. Indonesia imported 2.06 million tonnes of wheat from Australia and 1.47 million tonnes from Argentina in January-July 2022. Wheat imports from the two countries accounted for 64.1 percent of Indonesia's total wheat imports during the period.

What we’ve heard

Shortly after Jokowi ordered the sorghum development as a substitute for wheat, Syahrul Yasin Limpo invited the Franciscus Welirang to meet in mid-August. During the meeting, Syahrul asked Indofood to absorb the yields from the government's sorghum cultivation program.

Not only absorbing crop yields, Indofood has also been asked to participate in developing and processing sorghum cultivation to substitute wheat flour, which still relies on imports. "Essentially, Indofood was asked by the agriculture minister to absorb the harvest and develop instant noodles from sorghum," said a source.

The source added that Indofood was willing to be involved in this project but put forward conditions. Indofood asked for certainty from the government regarding the sustainability of national sorghum production so that this project does not end up in limbo. "Indofood is worried that the sorghum project will end up like the Merauke Food Estate which ended half way through or other food estate programs whose yields did not meet expectations," said the source.

Furthermore, the same source said, Indofood is actually still exploring the potential use of sorghum as a raw material for instant noodles. One of Indofood's concerns is the problem of flavor, which may not suit the tastes of Indonesians in general. The largest instant noodle company in Indonesia is currently calculating whether instant noodles made from sorghum will sell or not. "But in front of the public, Indofood must of course say that they support government programs," said the source.

Disclaimer

This content is provided by Tenggara Strategics in collaboration with The Jakarta Post to serve the latest comprehensive and reliable analysis on Indonesia’s political and business landscape. Access our latest edition to read the articles listed below:

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