Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has assured that national food availability will remain secure from Ramadan through Eid al-Fitr 2026, based on food balance projections and cross-stakeholder field evaluations.
The minister said during a recent working meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) that based on monitoring results of food balance projections and field evaluations conducted with the National Food Agency, regional governments, and business actors, production, supply, and strategic national food stocks are secure ahead of Ramadan.
He noted that the Ramadan fasting period, estimated to fall between February and March 2026 with Eid al-Fitr around March 20 or 21, is a momentum for the government to ensure sufficient supply and nationally stable prices for the public.
Demand for rice, corn, shallots, chili, chicken, eggs, and cooking oil is met by domestic production while soybeans, garlic, beef, and sugar are supported by measured imports.
The Agriculture Ministry stated that strategic commodity stocks, especially rice, are at adequate levels with routine monitoring through late March 2026 to anticipate seasonal demand spikes during Ramadan and the Eid holiday.
He explained that measures include safeguarding production, distributing supplies from surplus to deficit regions, interregional cooperation, coordination with business actors, and a national daily price early warning system with region-owned enterprises and private partners.
Through market operations and Food Task Force supervision, the minister is optimistic that availability and price stability will be maintained, protecting consumers as well as farmers and breeders.
Rice commodities recorded the highest surplus at 14.48 million tonnes, supported by initial carry-over stocks of 11.61 million tonnes and ongoing production of 7.98 million tonnes, far exceeding consumption needs of 5.12 million tonnes. A similar condition was seen in corn, which posted a surplus of 4.72 million tonnes.
Chicken meat and eggs also recorded significant surpluses, amounting to 635,000 tonnes for chicken meat and 305,000 tonnes for eggs. Meanwhile, the sugar commodity registered a surplus of 751,000 tonnes, driven by high initial stocks reaching 1.2 million tonnes./.
