Food Inflation Outpaces Headline Rate as Indonesia’s May Inflation Accelerates to 3.08%

JAKARTA, Jakartaweekly.com— Rising food prices remained the primary driver of Indonesia’s inflationary pressures in May 2026. Data released by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) showed that food inflation reached 5.88% year-on-year (y-o-y), nearly double the national inflation rate of 3.08%.

BPS data showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased from 108.07 in May 2025 to 111.40 in May 2026. Monthly inflation stood at 0.28%, while year-to-date inflation reached 1.35%.

Although headline inflation remained at around 3%, price pressures in the food sector were significantly stronger. The food component posted annual inflation of 5.88%, with its index rising from 110.79 to 117.30 over the period. It also contributed 1.20 percentage points to annual inflation, making it one of the largest contributors among major inflation components.

A closer look at expenditure categories shows that the food, beverages, and tobacco group recorded annual inflation of 4.94% and contributed 1.43 percentage points to the national inflation rate, the largest contribution among all expenditure groups.

BPS identified several food commodities as the main drivers of annual inflation, including fresh fish, rice, chicken meat, cooking oil, bird’s eye chilies, red chilies, shallots, beef, oranges, and papayas. Fresh fish made the largest contribution at 0.22 percentage points, followed by rice at 0.18 percentage points and chicken meat at 0.15 percentage points.

On a monthly basis, rising red chili prices were the biggest inflation driver in May 2026, contributing 0.08 percentage points. Other key contributors included cooking oil and shallots, each contributing 0.04 percentage points, while tomatoes added 0.03 percentage points.

Outside the food sector, BPS reported that the personal care and miscellaneous services category recorded the highest annual inflation among all expenditure groups at 10.35%. However, its contribution to overall inflation, at 0.70 percentage points, remained below that of the food, beverages, and tobacco group, which contributed 1.43 percentage points.

Regionally, the highest provincial inflation rate was recorded in West Papua at 5.94%, while Lampung posted the lowest at 1.94%. At the regency and municipality level, Central Aceh Regency registered the highest inflation rate at 6.09%, while North Minahasa Regency recorded the lowest at 0.66%.

For comparison, Indonesia’s annual inflation rate stood at 1.60% in May 2025. The 3.08% rate recorded in May 2026 therefore reflects a notable acceleration compared with the same period last year.