Indonesian Food Imports Increase

Jakarta, MINA – The Indonesian Central Statistics Agency (BPS) noted that imports of rice, corn and wheat have increased in recent times. It was recorded that from January to August 2023, Indonesia imported 1.59 million tons of rice.

Acting Head of BPS Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti said that rice imports in that period increased quite significantly compared to rice imports in the same period last year.

Several observers stated that the El Nino phenomenon and long drought had caused imports of a number of food commodities to increase.

Apart from that, corn imports in that period also rose 25.25 percent and wheat imports rose 5.11 percent compared to the same period last year.

In August 2023, corn imports reached 202,200 tons, an increase of 611.3 percent compared to last month. The two main countries of origin for corn imports are Brazil and Argentina.

Apart from grains, other food commodities that Indonesia imports a lot are sugar and garlic. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)