Agriculture Minister Amran Targets Rice Price Drop This Week

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman is targeting a drop in rice prices in the market this week.

Amran stated that the government is preparing several measures to curb the recent rise in rice prices.

"It will definitely go down, pray for it, it will definitely go down," Amran said during a press conference in Jakarta on Monday (9/21/2026).

The Minister admitted that various efforts are underway to control rice prices in the market and prevent them from soaring further.

One of the efforts planned is to hold market operations soon to prevent a worse price surge.

Additionally, the government is working to ease the burden on the public amid high rice prices by distributing food aid to 34.4 million people across Indonesia.

The government is also providing 1 million tons of rice for the Food Supply and Price Stabilization (SPHP) program.

Moreover, the government has ensured that fortified rice production, which was suspected to be a cause of the rising rice prices, has stopped.

"It’s over, God willing the prices will go down. Because fortified rice is no longer in play, right? Still dare to mess around? Fortification has disappeared, hasn't it?" Amran explained.

Fortified rice is supposed to contain added nutrients to address stunting in Indonesia.

However, the government found 25 brands of fortified rice in the market that did not contain the nutritional additives indicated on their packaging.

Amran said the presence of fake fortified rice in the market contributed to the price increase since it was sold at a high price.

According to an operation conducted by the National Food Agency (Bapanas), some fortified rice was sold for as much as Rp57,000 per kilogram (kg), while the price should have been only Rp13,500 per kg.

This situation contributed to pushing up rice prices in the market, causing the recent rise.

For context, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) recorded that the rise in rice prices was one of the main factors driving inflation to 0.28 percent month-to-month (mtm) and 3.08 percent year-on-year (yoy) in May 2026.

Deputy for Methodology and Statistical Information at BPS, Pudji Ismartini, said other commodities also contributed to inflation.

"Among the commodities that dominantly pushed inflation in the food, beverage, and tobacco group are red chili, cooking oil, red onion, tomato, and rice," Pudji explained during a press conference on Tuesday (6/2/2026).