Reporter Annisa Febiola

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Indonesia’s Ministry of Agriculture’s investigation revealed 212 cases of cheating in the premium rice market. According to the Ministry of Agriculture’s calculation, these violations have cost the consumers up to Rp 99.35 trillion per year.

The forms of cheating include discrepancies in the volume of rice, non-compliance with the highest retail price (HET), absence of registration under the Plant-Based Food (PSAT) category, and failure to meet the quality standards according to Minister of Agriculture Regulation No. 31 of 2017.

In this investigation, the Ministry of Agriculture collaborated with the Food Task Force, the National Food Agency, the Indonesian National Police, and the Attorney General’s Office. Agriculture Minister (Mentan) Andi Amran Sulaiman said in an official statement quoted on Saturday, June 28, 2025, “We detected anomalies when we saw a decrease in prices at the milling level, but an increase at the consumer level. We conducted checks in ten provinces on the quality, weight, and found that some were not as they should be, including the HET.”

Trouble Found in 212 out of 268 Samples

The investigation conducted between June 6-23, 2025, covered 268 samples of rice from 212 different brands spread across ten provinces. The Ministry of Agriculture took samples from two categories of rice, namely premium and medium, with the main focus on quality parameters such as moisture content, percentage of whole grains, broken grains, and chalky grains.

Based on the investigation results, it was found that 85.56 percent of the tested premium rice did not meet quality standards. Not only that, 59.78 percent of this rice also exceeded the HET, while 21.66 percent had a lower actual weight than indicated on the packaging.

As for medium rice, 88.24 percent of the total tested samples did not meet the Indonesian National Standard (SNI). Additionally, 95.12 percent of the medium rice was sold at prices higher than the HET, and 9.38 percent had a lower weight than indicated on the package.

“We used 13 labs across Indonesia. We don’t want to make mistakes because this is very sensitive,” said Minister of Agriculture Amran.

Consumer Losses of Rp 99 Trillion per Year

According to the Ministry of Agriculture’s calculations, potential losses for consumers of premium rice could reach Rp 34.21 trillion per year. Meanwhile, consumers of medium rice could potentially lose up to Rp 65.14 trillion per year. “So, this is a potential loss to consumers of around Rp 99 trillion. This is the result of a joint team going into the field, and we will re-verify. Later, the task force will move to directly inspect the fields,” said Amran.

Based on these investigation results, Minister Amran emphasized the importance of stricter supervision of rice distribution in the market to prevent continuous consumer losses. Amran also urged rice producers and distributors to ensure that the products sold comply with standards, both in terms of quality and price.

Amran asked the Food Task Force of the Indonesian National Police and the Attorney General’s Office to delve into the non-compliance of rice quality standards in the market, and to take action against unscrupulous producers and traders. With these measures, he hopes that the Indonesian rice market can become more transparent and fair.

“We are committed to firmly addressing those who manipulate the quality and price of food. This is an effort to ensure justice for all Indonesian people,” said Minister Amran.

Published Date: June 29, 2025