Jakarta, Sept. 8 -- The Indonesian government is resolved to convert around 380,000 metric tons of downgraded rice into flour to maximize the commodity's economic value while stabilizing food prices.

"Flour factories will have the opportunity to purchase deteriorated rice stocks. They can process the rice into flour, allowing for lower flour prices amid hikes," Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan stated in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The processing initiative aligns with Indonesia's natural resource downstreaming policy, which seeks greater added value for commodities by selling them as processed products rather than in raw form.

Hasan noted that the rice-to-flour conversion decision was made during a government coordination ...