JAKARTA, Nov 11 (Reuters) -Indonesia may not import rice in 2025, Zulkifli Hasan, a senior minister overseeing food affairs, said on Monday.

Indonesia’s rice output is estimated to fall 2.43% this year to 30.34 million metric tons, due to a delay in planting and the harvest season after dry weather in 2023, the statistics bureau said last month.

Indonesia’s rice imports have jumped in the past two years, reaching over 3 million metric tons each year.

Zulkifli told reporters that if imports were needed it would likelybe a small amount of rice, depending on supplies, and some of this year’s import allocation that cannot be delivered would be carried over into next year.

The Southeast Asian country aims to import up to 3.6 million tons of rice this year. It also plans to open between 750,000 hectares and 1 million hectares (1.85 million acres and 2.47 million acres) of new rice fields in 2025 to achieve President Prabowo Subianto’s target of food self-reliance.

Reporting by Bernadette Christina; Writing by Stanley Widianto; Editing by John Mair

Published Date: November 11, 2024