The Impact Of Indonesian Rice Exports: Positive And Negative For Farmers And The Community

YOGYAKARTA - Indonesia has the potential to export rice because it is an agricultural country that has agricultural products. The country is also referred to as the second largest rice producing country after China. In the three years since 2019, Indonesia has succeeded in self-sufficiency in rice.

This achievement then raised President Joko Widodo's desire to export rice to help overcome the food crisis. this was conveyed by the President at the opening of the 2025 National Coordination Meeting for Inflation Control.

Budi Cahyanto, Head of the Procurement Division of Perum Bulog, said that Indonesia has great potential to run rice exports. However, Budi said the need for rice consumption in the country is also high.

So what are the impacts of rice exports for Indonesia, especially for farmers and the community?

Sales of rice from Indonesia abroad have had various positive impacts on Indonesia. The positive impact of rice exports can be felt by the government and the public.

Indonesia has exported rice to several countries. Since 2017, Indonesia has exported rice to five countries, namely the United States, the Netherlands, Malaysa, Bangladesh and Belgium. In 2018, rice exports were distributed to 14 countries, including China, Japan, and Vietnam.

Opportunities for rice exports from Indonesia are also still wide open seeing that demand for premium rice is still high. This business collaboration can improve international trade relations.

The success of the food security system and self-sufficiency in rice in Indonesia received an award from the International Rice Institute (IRRI). In addition, the Indonesian government is also considered to be progressing in implementing agricultural technology innovations.

Indonesia's good agricultural performance has succeeded in making rice production in Indonesia very high. Domestic rice stocks are becoming stable enough for export use. Therefore, rice export activities can encourage Indonesian agriculture to continue to improve its performance, both in terms of human resources, products, and technology.

The rice export policy is said to be able to anticipate the soaring price of rice in the international market. The principle of rice exports is similar to rice imports. Certain levels and price stocks have decreased below market prices, which make the rice surplus for Indonesia.

Rice export trading activities are considered prone to irregularities. There will be parties who take advantage of these activities to seek profit from differences in international prices and domestic prices.

Export and import rice activities are considered to be fields for the personal profit-seeking mafia. parties looking for profit to do this see the statistics of rice supply in the country.

On the other hand, rice exports are also considered to have a negative impact on Indonesia and the community. Rice exports are said to not guarantee the welfare of farmers absolutely. Many people remind the government to focus on increasing domestic food security compared to being too hasty in selling rice abroad.

Indonesia received a demand for 1,000 tons of rice export and 2.5 million tons from Saudi Arabia and China. However, President Jokowi canceled the request. The President is still not brave and wants to be careful considering that currently there are several countries experiencing food difficulties.

The government is expected not to be tempted by the occurrence of a surplus of domestic rice stocks. The government is asked to prioritize domestic rice needs.

That is the impact of rice exports in terms of positive and negative. Currently, domestic rice stocks reach 1.1 million tons based on information from Budi Cahyanto, Head of the Procurement Division of Perum Bulog.

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