Jakarta, May 15 -- Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman stated that Indonesian farmers play a crucial role in lowering global rice prices by boosting national production without relying on imports, thereby helping keep global supply stable and prices affordable.

Sulaiman noted that the international price of rice has recently dropped to around US$390 per ton, down from US$460 per ton when Indonesia was still importing rice.

"What does that mean? It means Indonesia has an influence on global rice prices," he remarked here on Wednesday (May 14).

He explained that the decline in global prices was inseparable from Indonesian farmers' success in maintaining a stable supply and demand, which helps ease the burden on rice-consuming countr...