Distributing bulk cooking oil and sugar by optimizing sea toll facility is a solution to supplying and stabilizing food prices, especially in certain regions akin to eastern IndonesiaJakarta (ANTARA) - National Food Agency along with Transportation Ministry and State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry, for the foremost time, supplied sugar and cooking oil through the sea toll program from Belawan, North Sumatra, to Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.
Head of the National Food Agency Arief Prasetyo noted in a statement here on Friday that the measure was aimed at supplying food to eastern Indonesia and slashing food-related logistics costs.
“Distributing bulk cooking oil and sugar by optimizing the sea toll facility is a solution to supplying and stabilizing food prices, especially in certain regions akin to eastern Indonesia. Challenges in food logistics are commonly found due to the high logistic costs that lead to an increase in product and food commodity prices in certain regions,” he explained.
The cargo of sugar and cooking oil for distribution was transported aboard the MV Asia Pertama vessel on April 28, 2022, from Belawan Port in Medan, North Sumatra, with the estimated time of arrival in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, on May 10, 2022.
The distribution flows through sea toll from port to port. It will thereafter be sent from the port to warehouses and then to distributors and market vendors.
Through synergy among ministries and institutions, the government can realize the convenience of food logistics, particularly cooking oil and sugar, which drew the attention of both the government and public, according to Prasetyo.
Expert Staff at the Transportation Ministry Andre Mulyana remarked that the sea toll facility offers effective nationwide distribution since it can enable the supply of foods to the outermost, remote, and underdeveloped regions.
President Director of PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia Frans Marganda Tambunan noted that food SOE holding ID Food had distributed 800 tons of sugar and 300 tons of cooking oil during the first shipping through the sea toll access.
ID Food Group cooperated with local distributors in Kupang, so once the cargo arrives, it will be directly distributed to either the local market vendors or local vendor association that would safely sell the products to buyers.
Other SOEs akin to PT POS Indonesia and PT Pelindo have also partaken in the distribution process for tracking the container shipping via trucks to dispensing locations and for operating the ports respectively.
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Translator: Sugiharto P, Juwita Trisna R
Editor: Sri Haryati
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