In the city of Bekasi, located 25 km (15.5 miles) east of Jakarta, Indonesia, dozens of people, mostly women, queue up to purchase subsidised rice from a temporary bazaar run by state food procurement agency Bulog. Rice is a staple food in Indonesia, and the price of this grain, which is the centre of nearly every meal in the country, has risen by more than 16% since last year due to the El Nino weather phenomenon. This has led to a decrease in cereal output and caused food inflation pressure for some of the world’s most price-sensitive consumers.
The bazaar offers subsidised rice at 10,600 rupiah (67.8 U.S. cents) per kg, compared with 14,300 rupiah in the open market. Bulog limits sales to 10 kg per customer to prevent hoarding. The government usually intervenes to sell food products at subsidised prices
when prices climb.
Since January, Bulog has distributed more than 300,000 metric tons of rice from government reserves through hundreds of bazaars around the country, following reports of scarcity at other retail outlets. The National Food Agency, which oversees Bulog, has conducted 429 makeshift bazaars in January and plans 315 more by the end of February.
This year in Indonesia, planting delays and lack of rains have delayed the peak harvest by a month, with farm ministry data showing a rice supply deficit of 1.63 million metric tons in January and 1.15 million in February. To counter this, Indonesia, which imported record volumes of rice in 2023, has allocated an additional import quota of 1.6 million metric tons, on top of 2 million tons previously approved for 2024, potentially driving up global prices, which are already near 16-year highs.
One of the people in the queue, Masih, a 55-year-old coconut vendor, said, “It’s better to queue up and have the rice at home. It is expensive in the market, so better to get it cheap here.”
About Author
