Rice Prices Climb Despite Record Stockpile; Government Points to Hoarding and SPHP Blending
National rice reserves stand at 4.5 million tonnes — far above regional peers — yet market prices keep rising; the vice minister cited a Jakarta warehouse raid.
Indonesia's rice problem has flipped from supply to distribution integrity. Government rice reserves (CBP) stand at about 4.5 million tonnes as of late October — Bulog claims this is 22.5 times Malaysia's and 15.7 times the Philippines' reserves — and 2026 procurement of 4.24 million tonnes set a record at 105.96% of target. Yet prices at traditional markets keep climbing: the weekly PIHPS index showed low-grade rice (quality II) up 30.95% week on week to Rp19,250 per kilogram as of October 27.
The Vice Minister of Agriculture attributed the divergence to hoarding and the illegal blending of subsidized SPHP rice into "premium" sales, citing a raid at the Kayu Manis warehouse complex in East Jakarta on October 29. The government is preparing an additional 1 million tonnes of SPHP rice plus food assistance for 33.2 million beneficiary households (10 kg per month, October–December).
Official stock and price figures come from statements by Bulog and ministers as reported by media; primary PIHPS and Bulog datasets were not independently checked in the reporting. The gap between record supply and rising prices has put distribution-channel oversight at the center of the policy agenda ahead of the year-end holidays.