JAKARTA, Aug 14 (Reuters) – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said on Friday the country’s food supply was secure, with self-sufficiency achieved on eight food commodities even as it faces risks of extreme weather this year.
In remarks during his Independence Day speech at a time of falling approval ratings and growing investor scepticism over plans to control commodities exports and other ambitious policies, Prabowo acknowledged Indonesia faced problems, but said those were starting to be resolved.
“I cannot yet say that all the nation’s problems have been resolved, or that every promise I made has been fulfilled. Not yet,” he told parliament.
The former special forces commander took office in October 2024 after a sweeping election victory built on promises to root out corruption, lift economic growth from 5% to 8% and give free meals to millions of children.
But his administration has struggled this year with a depreciating rupiah and a poorly performing stock market, as well as concerns over government overspending and central bank independence, while his flagship free meals programme has been hit by budget cuts and allegations of mismanagement.
The president is scheduled to talk about broader policies in his Independence Day speech, then present next year’s budget in the afternoon.
Investors are closely monitoring Prabowo’s 2027 budget proposal, policy direction and clarity on his plan to centralise exports of key commodities.
Prabowo in his speech said that amid global supply chain disruption, Indonesia should be able to stand on its own feet due to his self-sufficiency drive and cannot be reliant on supply from outside, in the event global conditions worsen.
He has made food self-sufficiency a key priority of his administration, framing lower reliance on imports as essential to Indonesia’s food security.
The government has focused on boosting staple crops output, particularly rice, essential for its 290 million population. However, environmentalists say the drive made Indonesian forest loss surge last year.
(Reporting by Jakarta bureau; Writing by Gibran Peshimam, Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Martin Petty)
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