Erfan Maruf, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has launched a subsidized rice program worth about Rp 5 trillion ($296 million) to help households access affordable staple food during the Ramadan period.
The program will distribute 828,000 tons of rice nationwide under a government-branded scheme designed to stabilize prices and ensure supply, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said on Wednesday.
Retail prices for the subsidized rice will range from Rp 2,500 to Rp 13,500 per kilogram depending on the region, while purchases are capped at a maximum of 10 kilograms per buyer.
The rice must be used strictly for household consumption and cannot be resold commercially because it is financed through state subsidies, the minister said.
Amran added that the government's rice reserves remain more than sufficient to support the program.
"Government rice stocks currently stand at 3.7 million tons. Our projections show they could reach 4 million tons by mid-March and about 5 million tons by the end of the month," he said.
The subsidized rice will be sold in 5-kilogram packages as well as smaller 2-kilogram economy packs. In remote regencies, particularly in Papua and Maluku, 50-kilogram sacks will be distributed through a special logistics system.
To avoid undermining domestic rice farmers, the government said distribution will primarily target areas that are not major rice-producing regions.
The program was relaunched after a similar initiative in February helped contain food price volatility. Government data showed rice inflation remained relatively stable at 0.43% in February, significantly lower than the same period in 2024 when rice inflation had surged to 5.28%.