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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government has warned rice entrepreneurs to immediately comply with applicable regulations, especially regarding quality, price, and information accuracy on product packaging. This warning follows an investigation that revealed cheating in the rice products circulating in the market, which could potentially harm consumers up to Rp99.35 trillion per year.

Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Andi Amran Sulaiman emphasized that such actions are very harmful to consumers and cannot be tolerated. "We ask the Food Task Force to take action. Within the next two weeks, all rice producers and traders must make adjustments," he said in an official statement quoted on Saturday, June 28, 2025.

Mentan also asked the Police Food Task Force and the Attorney General's Office to further investigate these indications of violations. Parties proven to manipulate the quality and price of food must be firmly dealt with.

Head of the Police Food Task Force, Brigadier General Helfi Assegaf, stated that a two-week deadline has been given to all rice business players to clarify and adjust their products. He threatened legal consequences if entrepreneurs still do not comply with the applicable rules. "If not done, the Food Task Force will take legal action in accordance with applicable provisions," said Helfi.

Previously, the Ministry of Agriculture conducted an investigation with the Food Task Force, the National Food Agency, the Police, and the Attorney General's Office from June 6 to 23, 2025. "There is an anomaly, the price at the milling level decreases, but the price at the consumer level increases. We found that the quality does not match the standards, the price exceeds the reference price, and the weight is incorrect," said Amran.

The investigation involved 268 samples of rice from 212 brands in ten provinces. As a result, 85.56 percent of premium rice did not meet the quality standards, 59.78 percent were sold above the reference price, and 21.66 percent did not meet the weight specification.

As for medium rice, 88.24 percent did not meet quality standards, 95.12 percent exceeded the reference price. Then, there were 9.38 percent of medium rice with weights less than claimed on the packaging.

Amran urged the public to be more vigilant about the products they buy. He also asked the public to report findings of discrepancies in the content and labeling of rice packaging. "This is a moment to rearrange our rice trade to be fairer and more honest. We want the farmers to profit, but also to protect the consumers," he said.

Previously, Mentan revealed that 212 rice brands inspected in ten provinces did not comply with quality, weight, and reference price provisions. He has officially reported these 212 rice brands to the Chief of the Indonesian National Police (Kapolri) and the Attorney General for follow-up action.

Based on the Ministry of Agriculture's calculation, the potential loss for consumers of premium rice amounted to Rp34.21 trillion per year. Meanwhile, consumers of medium rice could potentially suffer losses of up to Rp65.14 trillion per year. "From 13 laboratories in ten provinces, we found that 85.56 percent of premium rice did not meet the quality standards, 59.78 percent were sold above the reference price, and 21 percent did not meet the weight specifications. This is very harmful to the public," said Amran.

Source : tempo