President Prabowo Subianto Orders Crackdown on Substandard Rice Brands After National Probe

President Prabowo Subianto chairs a Cabinet meeting at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday (07/31). (Photo by: Bureau of Press, Media, and Information (BPMI) of Presidential Secretariat)

President Prabowo Subianto Wednesday (07/31) at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta chaired a Cabinet meeting to address concerns over violations of premium and medium rice quality standards on the national market.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman revealed the results of an investigation into 268 rice brands, noting that 212 failed to meet the government regulatory standards.

Alarmingly, many were found to contain high levels of broken grains, far exceeding regulatory limits, he added.

“According to the investigation, 212 out of 268 rice brands do not comply with government standards. Some have broken grain levels of 30, 35, 40, even 50 percent—far beyond the legal threshold,” the Minister said.

However, Amran assured that firm actions would be taken against those parties involved in the violations.

“We have submitted the findings to the National Police Chief and the Attorney General. Upon re-examination, the data and findings remain consistent. Hence, law enforcement will proceed with necessary action against all non-compliant parties,” he said.

The Minister also reiterated that President Prabowo Subianto had instructed that the legal process must run its course.

“The President’s directive is clear, which is to proceed with legal action, and we will hold another coordination meeting to discuss this further,” Amran remarked. (Bureau of Press, Media, and Information (BPMI) of Presidential Secretariat) (WK/EP)