Government Lifts Rice Reserves to 4 Million Tons in 2026 as Free Meal Program Expands

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — The government decides on Monday, Dec 29, 2025 in Jakarta to raise rice reserves to 4 million tons in 2026 from 3 million tons in 2025 as demand surges from the Free Nutritious Meal program and higher domestic output is expected, a move aimed at stabilizing prices and ensuring supply.

Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan said the increase reflected stronger production prospects and the need to prepare absorption capacity and storage facilities early next year.

“We decided to raise government rice reserves from 3 million tons to 4 million tons,” Zulkifli said after a limited coordination meeting at his office.

He said the Agriculture Ministry projected an earlier main harvest in 2026, possibly starting in February instead of the usual March to May window, which required readiness to absorb output to prevent price drops.

“Normally the peak harvest is in March, April, and May, but it may come as early as February, so we must be prepared or prices could fall again,” he said.

Zulkifli added that national corn reserves would also be lifted sharply, rising from 300,000 tons this year to 1 million tons in 2026.

The increase in rice and corn stockpiles was driven by the rapid expansion of the Free Nutritious Meal program, which is expected to reach 55 million beneficiaries in early 2026.

He said around 19,000 Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units are scheduled to operate from January 2026, significantly boosting demand for staple food supplies.

With 19,000 service units running, the government estimated rice demand for beneficiaries would reach about 91,200 tons in January 2026 alone.

Corn availability was also seen as critical to support feed demand for laying hens supplying eggs to the program.

Each service unit is expected to require about 4,000 laying hens, producing roughly 3,200 eggs, implying a national requirement of around 30,400 tons of eggs per month.

If beneficiaries increase to 82.9 million people, Zulkifli said egg demand could jump to around 720,000 tons per year, assuming eggs are served three times a week nationwide.