Indonesia to increase wheat consumption and imports

Indonesia will increase its wheat imports in the 2025/26 and 2026/27 seasons, according to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (FAS USDA).

The Indonesian flour milling industry continues to expand. It currently comprises 31 flour mills, with a combined annual capacity of 14.8 million tons. The industry is expected to continue growing due to population growth, urbanization, new trends in flour-based food production, and growing consumer demand for a variety of foods.

The Indonesian government allows flour mills to import milling wheat. Feed wheat imports are restricted: only state-owned companies can purchase it in cases of emergency.

Thus, due to declining corn production and rising prices since mid-2025, the Indonesian Feed Mills Association requested permission from the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry of Food to import feed wheat to a state-owned company. The ministry granted the request and issued import permits for a total of 1.0 million tonnes of feed wheat to ID Food in August 2025. For the 2026/27 season, the Indonesian government has issued import permits for 1.5 million tonnes of feed wheat to ID Food.

Demand for wheat from flour mills is expected to remain strong due to increased demand from bakeries, biscuit makers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and households. Despite the weakening of the rupiah against the US dollar, increased wheat supply on the global market in the 2025/26 season is expected to lower global prices and support increased imports of this crop into Indonesia.

Members of the Indonesian Flour Mills Association (APTINDO) continue to fulfill their commitments under the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the U.S. Wheat Growers Association on July 7, 2025. The MoU has contributed to an increase in the share of U.S. wheat in Indonesia’s market. The MoU also includes a commitment for APTINDO members to purchase a minimum of 1.0 million tonnes of U.S. wheat between 2026 and 2030.

Taking into account the above factors, Indonesia’s wheat imports in the 2025/26 season are projected to increase by 17.7% compared to the 2024/25 season, reaching 12.3 million tonnes.

In the 2026/27 season, wheat imports will increase by a further 1.6% to 12.5 million tonnes due to an increase in the feed wheat import quota.

Between July 2025 and January 2026, Indonesia imported 7.8 million tonnes of wheat, up 30.4% from the same period last season. Australia continues to benefit from its proximity to Indonesia, as well as consumer preference for yellowish noodles made from Australian wheat, securing a 37.8% market share. Ukraine and Canada rank second and third, with 18.3% and 16.1%, respectively.

While Indonesian millers are primarily interested in soft-grain white wheat, the Memorandum of Understanding increased the US market share to 12.5% ​​(worth $269 million) from 6.9% between July 2024 and January 2025.

Flour produced by Indonesian millers continues to dominate the local market with a 99.9 percent share. However, demand for imported wheat flour increased by 53.7 percent between July 2025 and January 2026, reaching 87,533 tonnes in wheat equivalent, compared to 56,947 tonnes during the same period last season. Indonesia sources most of its wheat flour from Turkey, which holds a 96.2 percent market share. Vietnam follows with a 2.3 percent market share.

Tags: Indonesia, wheat