Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah aims to begin shipping rice to Saudi Arabia for Indonesian citizens joining the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage in the early days of Ramadan.
“We are making efforts to start exporting Hajj rice in the initial week of Ramadan, hoping to ensure that the shipments will have already arrived ahead of the upcoming Hajj season,” Hajj and Umrah Minister Mochamad Irfan Yusuf said.
Speaking at the Pondok Gede Hajj Dormitory in Jakarta on Wednesday, he highlighted that the plan is to send at least 2,280 tonnes of rice to cater to the needs of 205,420 individuals comprising pilgrims and Hajj officers.
The amount, he added, is based on the estimated eating frequency of pilgrims throughout the pilgrimage: 78 times in Mecca, 27 times in Medina, and six times in Armuzna.
Yusuf further explained that the export initiative is oriented toward menu standardization and cost efficiency, noting that catering providers in Saudi Arabia typically use rice from other countries at nearly Rp17,000 (over US$1) per kilogram.
With Indonesia deploying national rice, the cost is projected to fall to around Rp16,000 per kilogram.
Elaborating on meal composition, the minister noted that each pilgrim would receive a package containing 170 grams of rice, 80 grams of side dishes, 75 grams of vegetables, and mineral water per serving.
Earlier, Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan emphasized that the government aims to optimize Indonesia’s rice reserve abundance to supply residents during the forthcoming Hajj pilgrimage.
“Considering that Indonesian pilgrims tend to prefer our own rice out of superior texture, the government has decided to export rice to Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage,” he remarked after a cross-institution coordination meeting in Jakarta on Monday (Feb. 9).
On the same occasion, Secretary of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Sarwo Edhy said his side would issue a letter assigning state logistics company Bulog to execute the rice export plan.
