"We want to build a healthy food ecosystem, which has experienced anomalies in many regions. This cheap food movement is a concrete effort to stabilize food prices, especially rice, so it remains affordable and accessible to the public," said Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman at the GPM event held at the Ministry of Agriculture Office in Jakarta on Saturday.
According to Amran, this initiative is part of the broader SPHP rice distribution program, which targets 1.3 million tons of rice to be distributed between July and December 2025.
SPHP rice is sold at Rp60,000 ($3.64) per 5-kilogram (kg) package, with distribution reaching 4,320 sub-districts across 38 provinces.
The distribution network is further strengthened through cross-sector collaboration, including 414 distribution points with the National Police (Polri), 449 points with the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), 129 points through state-owned enterprise networks, and an additional other 415 distribution points.
Bulog President Director Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani stated that the Cheap food movement is being carried out to ensure price stability and control inflation.
"This movement plays a strategic role in ensuring the availability of rice at stable prices for all levels of society. The GPM is clear evidence of the government's commitment to food security and protecting people's purchasing power," he said.
On the same occasion, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian expressed his appreciation and support for the initiative, encouraging local government accross Indonesia to adopt it.
"Data from four weeks ago showed that rice prices had increased in 233 regencies/cities. As of this Monday, during our inflation meeting, the number had dropped to 200 regions. This shows that GPM program, utilizing Bulog's rice stock, is the most effective approach to stabilize price," he remarked.
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Translator: Yoanita Hastryka Djohan
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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