JAKARTA- Indonesia sees rice production in June and July dropping on an annual basis, the head of its food agency said on Monday, due to delays in the crop cycle as a result of less rain last year.
June rice production is expected at 2.01 million metric tons and July production at 2.15 million tons, according to data presented to parliament by agency head Arief Prasetyo.
That compared to 2.79 million tons and 2.48 million tons respectively in those months last year.
Indonesia’s food procurement agency Bulog has imported 1.2 million tons of rice as of April out of the 3.6 million import quota allotted this year.
From January to July, domestic production of the staple was 18.64 million tons, down 13.3 percent from the same period last year. Meanwhile, consumption from January to July was 18 million tons, Arief said.
The El Nino weather phenomenon last year had cut rain volume, causing delays in new crop cycle and a drop in production.
A staple for most of Indonesia’s 270 million people, the price of rice has climbed more than 16 percent since last year, as the El Nino weather phenomenon has cut rainfall across large parts of Asia in 2023, reducing cereal output and sparking food inflation pressure for some of the world’s most price-sensitive consumers.
This year in Indonesia, planting delays and lack of rains have delayed the peak harvest by a month, with farm ministry data showing a rice supply deficit of 1.63 million metric tons in January and 1.15 million in February.
