Anastasya Lavenia Y, Jakarta – Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto claims that the plan to increase import of food from the United States will not disrupt the food self-sufficiency program. Importing food is one of the things offered by the Indonesian government in tariff negotiations with the US.
"We will not disrupt the self-sufficiency program, so self-sufficiency will not be disrupted at all by what is planned to be purchased from the United States," said Airlangga in a virtual press conference on Friday, April 18, 2025. Airlangga stated that Indonesia has been importing some food products from the US, such as wheat, soybeans, and soy milk.
The United States is not the only importer of these products; there are also several other countries such as Australia and Ukraine. According to Airlangga, the Indonesian government will redirect imports from other countries to the US.
Statistics Indonesia data shows that Indonesia imported 1,949,365 tons of soybeans from the US in 2023. While the total soybean imports that year were 2,274,428 tons.
Economist from Bright Institute, Muhammad Andri Perdana, believes that redirecting imports contradicts the food self-sufficiency program. According to Andri, if the imported products are limited to wheat only, the government could still use the reason to redirect import sources.
"But if we are already talking about soybeans, it's clear that what has been programmed for food self-sufficiency by the government are paddy, corn, and soybeans," said Andri when contacted on Saturday, April 19, 2025.
Andri stated that the government allocates hundreds of trillions of budget each year for food security, covering the expansion of soybean fields and intensification of soybean production. The budget allocation for food security in 2025 reached Rp155.5 trillion.
Food security is one of President Prabowo Subianto's priority programs. "The budget allocation for food security is to boost agricultural and fisheries productivity, support food supply chains, ensure food availability for the people, and increase the exchange rate for farmers and fishermen," said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani on her official Instagram @smindrawati, quoted on Saturday, March 29, 2025.
– Ilona Estherina contributed to the writing of this article.