Indonesia's Bulog absorbs 4 million tons of rice equivalent, meeting its 2026 procurement target early

Indonesia's state food logistics company Perum Bulog has absorbed 4 million tons of rice equivalent in domestically produced paddy and rice, reaching the procurement target the government set for 2026 with about three months of the year still to run, according to Liputan6.com, which cited remarks carried by the news agency Antara.

Bulog President Director Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani said the figure was still rising. Speaking in Purworejo, Central Java, on Friday, 25 September 2026, he said the company had been instructed to keep buying paddy from farmers even though the task assigned to it under the Presidential Instruction had already been met in full.

Target reached with three months of buying left

“This is something we are proud of, because this achievement still has three months ahead of it,” Ahmad Rizal said. “The President's direction is also to keep absorbing farmers' paddy even though 100 percent of the task given under the Presidential Instruction has been reached.” The government had earlier set Bulog's 2026 procurement target at 4 million tons of rice equivalent, a figure it described as part of a strategy to strengthen food reserves while supporting domestic farm output.

With that level now passed, Bulog has roughly three months to continue procuring paddy and rice before the end of the year. Ahmad Rizal said the company would keep optimising absorption from farmers across different regions in line with government instructions, and that the realised volume was continuing to grow at the time he spoke.

Presidential Instruction No. 4 of 2026 sets the framework to 2029

The procurement drive is being carried out under Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 4 of 2026, which governs the procurement and management of domestic paddy and rice as well as the distribution of the Government Rice Reserve. The regulation is not limited to the current season: it sets out implementation for the 2026-2029 period, giving state buying and reserve distribution a multi-year legal basis.

• procurement and management of domestically produced paddy and rice;
• distribution of the Government Rice Reserve;
• an implementation period covering 2026 to 2029.

Bulog is one of the parties executing the policy, absorbing farmers' output and managing the government's rice stock. That dual role links the volume it buys during the harvest to the volume available later for distribution from the reserve.

Market certainty for farmers, stock for the state

Ahmad Rizal said absorption was not aimed solely at meeting the procurement target. He described it as part of an effort to maintain the availability of government food reserves, adding that Bulog is also seeking to give farmers market certainty by buying domestic production. The intention, he said, is for harvests to be taken up as fully as possible while the rice stock managed by the government is strengthened.

Continued absorption is also important to keep production and national food requirements in balance, the company said. On that basis, Bulog will carry on taking in domestically produced paddy and rice until the end of the year despite the 2026 procurement target having been achieved.

The report does not specify a revised procurement figure for the remainder of 2026, nor does it give purchase prices, a regional breakdown of the 4 million tons, or the current size of the government rice stock. Those numbers will determine how much additional supply moves from farmers into state hands during the final quarter, and how much of the reserve is available for distribution in 2027 under the same Presidential Instruction.