The Prohibition Of Foreign Exports Of Rice Does Not Affect Indonesia

Logistical illustration (Photo: dock. intermediate)

JAKARTA - The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) stated that the ban on rice exports imposed by several countries had no major effect on Indonesia.

The countries that impose a rice export ban are India, Bangladesh, and Russia.

Plt. Head of BPS, Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti explained, since India imposed rice export restrictions last July, the proportion of imported rice from India has continued to decline in the last months.

"When viewed in September 2023, the proportion of imported rice from Indoa only contributed 0.39 percent of the total rice imports due to the export restriction policy in India," he said at a press conference in Jakarta, Monday, October 16.

Therefore, he said, Indonesia's rice imports were seen switching to other countries so that Indonesia's largest import rice production came from Vietnam and Thailand.

"Bangladesh and Russia, although this country has implemented a policy of banning exports, coincidentally Bangladesh and Russia are not the origin of Indonesia's main rice imports, so the restrictions from the two countries have no direct impact on the performance of the proportion of Indonesian rice imports," concluded Amalia.

As reported, President Joko Widodo at the 60th Dies Natalis event at the Bogor Agricultural Institute, last Friday, September 15, stated that there were 19 countries that limited food exports, one of which was India, which stopped rice exports and had an impact on rising rice prices in all countries.

The President said the 19 countries were limiting exports to ensure food availability in their respective countries.