Indonesian govt raises rice, corn prices to help achieve food security

The decision to raise the Government Purchase Price (HPP) for unhusked rice and corn aims to improve farmers’ welfare and advance Indonesia’s food self-sufficiency mission, according to the National Food Agency (Bapanas).

“In pursuit of food self-sufficiency, the government, through Bapanas, has moved to adjust the HPP for unhusked rice and feed corn,” Bapanas Head Arief Prasetyo Adi stated in a press release on Thursday.

During a cabinet meeting on December 30, the government decided to increase the HPP for unhusked rice to Rp6,500 (around US$0.40) per kilogram, up from Rp6,000.

Meanwhile, the price for feed corn was raised from Rp5,000 to Rp5,500 per kilogram, he added.

“This decision is aimed at stimulating national farmers’ productivity while increasing the volume of the government’s food reserves stored by Bulog,” he said, referring to the state-run logistics agency.

Adi assured domestic rice and corn farmers that Bulog would absorb their entire harvest.

“Together with Bulog, we will focus on expanding storage capacity and installing additional drying facilities,” he remarked.

According to Adi, the decision to raise the HPP followed coordination and consultations with various parties, including government institutions such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Statistics Indonesia, and the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).

Bapanas also sought input from farmer unions, including the Indonesian Farmers Union (SPI) and the Indonesian Seed Bank and Agricultural Technology Association (AB2TI), he noted.

“We also considered recommendations from state-owned and regionally-run enterprises, such as Bulog and PT Food Station Tjipinang,” Adi stated.

Tags: corn, price, Indonesia, feed corn, unhusked rice