Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman made the statement after a parliamentary hearing on Monday, responding to an alleged illegal shipment involving company PT MSG in Sabang, Aceh, where police sealed a warehouse containing imported Thai rice.
He said the violation stemmed partly from Sabang’s status as a free-trade zone, but stressed that the area remains bound by national policy prohibiting rice imports to safeguard food sovereignty.
Amran said President Prabowo has been clear that Indonesia will not import rice this year because domestic production is more than adequate to meet demand and maintain stock security.
He projected national rice output at 34.7 million tonnes, exceeding the government’s 2025 target of 32 million tonnes, reinforcing the view that imports are unnecessary and could disrupt market stability.
The minister said the 250-tonne shipment seized in Sabang is insignificant in volume but politically sensitive, risking misperceptions about national food conditions and undermining policy consistency.
Related news: RI Govt seals Sabang warehouse over 250-tonne illegal rice import
Amran praised Parliament’s Commission IV for supporting strict enforcement against illegal imports, saying such actions protect farmers and preserve the credibility of Indonesia’s food-security strategy.
He said the motive behind the attempted import was purely commercial, driven by a sharp drop in global rice prices in producing countries.
International prices, he noted, slid from about US$650 per tonne to US$340 after Indonesia halted purchases.
Two years earlier, Indonesia imported seven million tonnes, a volume that heavily influenced global prices. When those imports stopped, producing countries lost a key market and began lobbying Jakarta to resume buying, he said.
Amran said Indonesia is resisting such pressure, insisting that self-sufficiency remains a national priority and will not be compromised for short-term business gains.
He emphasized that illegal imports do not negate self-sufficiency, which is based on national production rather than the actions of individual violators.
Commission IV chair Siti Hediati Hariyadi, known as Titiek Soeharto, urged strict legal action against those responsible for the Sabang shipment, saying the government’s no-import stance must be respected.
Related news: Prabowo at UN: Indonesia now rice self-sufficient, ready to export
Translator: Muhammad Harianto, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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