Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto has claimed that Indonesia achieved rice self-sufficiency by the end of 2025, reaching the milestone earlier than planned and marking what he described as a major achievement in national food security.
Prabowo made the announcement during his speech at the 2025 National Christmas Celebration at Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday, January 5, 2026.
"In this Christmas celebration, I proudly announce that as of passing December 31, 2025, Indonesia is now self-sufficient in rice," Prabowo said.
According to Prabowo, the achievement came well ahead of the government's original target. When he took office, the administration had aimed to secure rice self-sufficiency within four years.
The chair of the Gerindra Party credited the accelerated timeline to intensive efforts and cross-sector cooperation.
"The four-year target, we achieved it in one year," he said.
Prabowo also claimed that Indonesia did not import rice at all throughout 2025, calling the outcome a critical step toward strengthening national food security.
Beyond domestic benefits, he argued that Indonesia's rice self-sufficiency had broader global implications, including easing pressure on international rice prices.
"We help not only the Indonesian people but also the world. Why? By not importing rice, the world rice price decreases," Prabowo said.
The former defense minister further claimed that global rice prices had fallen significantly as a result.
"It has decreased by hundreds of dollars in total. So, many countries are thankful to us," he said.
Earlier, Deputy for Coordination of Trade and Food Distribution at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs Tatang Yuliono said the government would not import rice or consumer sugar in 2026.
"There is no import of consumer sugar. So, for consumer sugar, we don't import. There is also no import of consumer rice. Industrial rice is not imported either. For consumer rice, we are almost entirely self-sufficient," Tatang said on Thursday, January 1, 2026, as quoted by Antara.
Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) projects rice production for January – December 2025 at 34.77 million tons, an increase of 13.54 percent compared to the previous year.
Separately, Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) and Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said the projected increase of 4.1 million tons in rice production was achieved without imports.
"We always calculate in a moderate manner. Last year, (following President Prabowo Subianto's directive) four years of self-sufficiency was the plan. Thank God, there is only one month left. According to BPS data, rice production is secured," Amran said in a statement in Jakarta on Saturday, November 8, 2025, also quoted by Antara.
Despite the reported rise in production, some analysts have expressed skepticism, pointing to persistently high rice prices in the market.
According to National Food Agency price panel data from November 23, 2025, average premium rice prices remained above the highest retail price ceiling across all regions.
Critics have also questioned the government's policy of absorbing all harvested paddy at a uniform price, even when quality standards vary, arguing that the approach could distort market signals despite rising output.