"As of April 17, 2024, SPHP rice that has been distributed reached 643 thousand tons. We continue to work with retailers to spread wider point of sales for end consumers," he remarked on Friday.
He noted that the distribution aims to maintain the availability of rice at several modern retailers and kiosks and to maintain price stability for the public.
The government had appointed Bulog to distribute a minimum of 1.2 million tons of SPHP rice throughout 2024. Meanwhile, the rice stock at Bulog's warehouse until April 17 amounted to 1.26 million tons, Krisnamurthi remarked.
The SPHP rice program comes from government rice reserves (CBP) distributed to the public through a subsidy scheme with a sales price according to the highest retail price (HET) set at Rp10,900 per kilogram (US$0.67).
The SPHP rice distributed by Bulog is identified with the National Food Agency logo located at the top left; Bulog logo placed on the top right; and the writing "Government Rice Reserves" at the bottom center of the packaging.
Earlier, Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), Arief Prasetyo Adi, urged traders and business owners to not mix SPHP rice and to not sell it above the HET.
"We urge the public and business owners to not commercialize SPHP rice in any form, including repacking, mixing, and increasing the price," he emphasized.
He noted that the price of SPHP rice is regulated in accordance with National Food Agency Regulation Number 7 of 2023. In 2024, SPHP rice is sold in bulk and five-kilogram packaging, with a price for zone 1 of Rp10,900 per kilogram, zone 2 of Rp11,500 per kilogram, and zone 3 with Rp11,800 per kilogram.
"The public can get SPHP rice in traditional markets, modern retail, Bulog outlets, local governments, and other shops that are partners of Bulog," he stated.
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Translator: Muhammad Harianto, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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