April 30, 2025 | 08:14 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) projects that Indonesia’s rice imports will fall to 800,000 tons in 2025, a drop of 3.9 million tons, as domestic rice production improves. This projection was included in the April 2025 edition of the Rice Outlook report, released on Monday, April 14.
According to the USDA, Indonesia’s rice stockpile for the 2024/2025 period is expected to increase by 0.6 million tons, reaching nearly 5 million tons. This rise is attributed to a larger harvest.
So, which countries are the world’s largest rice importers?
List of the World's Largest Rice-Importing Countries
Referring to the World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS) data from the World Bank, here are the top 10 countries that imported the most rice in 2023:
Indonesia: US$1.78 billion or around 3.06 million tons.
Saudi Arabia: US$1.68 billion or around 1.3 million tons.
Philippines: US$1.63 billion or around 1.4 million tons.
United States: US$1.42 billion or around 1.3 million tons.
China: US$1.4 billion or around 2.5 million tons.
Vietnam: US$887 million or around 967,000 tons.
Malaysia: US$818 million or around 1.4 million tons.
United Kingdom: US$749 million.
Japan: US$743 million or around 708,000 tons.
Ivory Coast: US$722 million or around 1.3 million tons.
Minister's Response to Projected Decline in Rice Imports
Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman stated that certain foreign parties prefer Indonesia to remain dependent on rice imports.
He noted that these groups do not support Indonesia’s efforts to achieve food self-sufficiency, particularly in the production of key national commodities like rice.
"Oh, that's for sure (there are countries that want Indonesia to keep importing rice). There is not a single country in the world, especially exporters, that wants Indonesia to be self-sufficient," said Amran when met during the National Coordination Meeting with 37 Agricultural Extension Workers virtually and in person in Jakarta, Saturday, April 26, 2025, as quoted from Antara.
Amran conveyed this when asked to respond to Deputy Agriculture Minister Sudaryono's statement, who stated that there is an institution in the United States that has indicated a significant increase in national rice production.
Amran confirmed and admitted to having obtained this information through a USDA report.
"Yesterday, we received it, an institution in the United States, that is the USDA, said that Indonesian rice production jumped high and its words disappointed the exporters of other countries," said Amran.
He said that rice-exporting countries prefer Indonesia to stay as an import market rather than becoming self-sufficient in meeting its own food needs.
He assesses that the increase in Indonesian rice production has disappointed some countries, because it reduces their export opportunities to the country, which has been one of their main destinations.
Editor's Choice: Economist Criticizes Prabowo's Rice Export Plan, Cites Concerns Over Production Dip
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