ID2023-0029 – Published on December 4, 2023
Economic slowdowns in Indonesia’s export destination countries negatively affected its imports and consumption of wheat. Wheat imports for 2022/23 are revised down to 9.446 million metric tons (MMT) from the previous estimate of 9.526 MMT, reflecting slower demand from both domestic and export markets. Total 2022/23 wheat consumption is estimated to decline to 9.6 MMT of wheat equivalent from 10.5 MMT the previous marketing year. As for rice, due to prolonged, El Nino-induced dryness, Indonesian 2022/23 paddy production is revised down to 53.1 MMT from the previous estimate of 53.5 MMT. Anticipating price fluctuations in 2023/24, the Government of Indonesia assigned state-owned enterprise BULOG to import another 1.5 MMT of rice to be carried out in 2024.