Global Rice News

Indonesia’s Rice Output Expected to Decrease in Early 2024

According to data from the statistics bureau, Indonesia’s rice production is projected to decline by 17.52% in the harvest period from January to April compared to last year. This decrease is attributed to dry weather conditions, which resulted in a decline of 1.39% in overall output. In 2023, the country produced 31.10 million metric tons of rice, and it is estimated that output from January to April this year will be 10.71 million metric tons, down from 12.98 million in the same period last year.

The El Nino weather phenomenon has discouraged some farmers from planting crops from October to December, leading to a reduction of approximately 16% in rice-producing areas during the January-April period. M. Habibullah, a senior official from the statistics bureau, stated that the larger areas of uncultivated land will negatively impact the harvest size in early 2024.

The anticipation of lower rice production has caused retail prices of the grain to increase, which has contributed to a higher rate of inflation in February. The retail rice price index, encompassing all grades of rice, reached 15,157 rupiah ($0.9663) per kilogram, marking the highest recorded price.

In order to control prices and meet the anticipated higher demand ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Indonesia is increasing its rice imports, as rice is a staple food consumed by the majority of its 270 million population. The government has approved an additional 1.6 million tons of rice import allocation this year, supplementing the already approved 2 million tons.

On the other hand, the output of corn kernels containing 14% moisture is estimated to be 5.34 million tons from January to April, reflecting a 10.28% increase compared to the previous year. In 2023, corn kernel output declined by 10.61% to 14.77 million tons.

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