Ombudsman Suspects SPHP Rice Misappropriation

JAKARTA - Ombudsman member Yeka Hendra Fatika said his party had a number of assumptions why the price of rice was still expensive even though Bulog had poured hundreds of thousands of tons of rice to Stabilize Supply and Food Prices (SPHP).

One of the allegations is the possibility of misuse of SPHP rice which should have been sold to underprivileged communities, but instead was repackaged as commercial rice and sold not according to government instructions.

"Because we have never supervised (rice prices) in the market, in retail, what consumers are like," Yeka said during an inspection, at the Bulog Kelapa Gading Warehouse, Jakarta, reported by ANTARA, Friday, March 15.

He said further investigations were needed to be carried out to find out whether the SPHP rice was actually distributed on target.

SPHP rice is a government program that has been rolled out through Perum Bulog since 2023 to maintain the stability of rice supply in the market and suppress the increase in rice prices so that they are affordable for the community, especially the lower middle class.

SPHP rice comes from government rice reserves (CBP) in Bulog warehouses, and is packaged in 5 kg bulk packaging. Prices tend to be cheaper than other types of rice in the market.

The second allegation of why rice prices have not yet dropped, Yeka said, is the possibility of disruption to domestic rice production.

"Production is problematic or there is indeed fraud in the distribution of SPHP rice," he said.

Yeka also highlighted the packaging of Bulog SPHP rice sacks which turned out to be exactly the same as commercial rice, even though the quality of the two rices was not much different.

He found this during an inspection at the Cipinang Rice Main Market, Jakarta, Friday.

"Earlier, it seemed that the sacks of SPHP rice and commercial rice were not much different, so this is a suggestion for Bulog, so the packaging is different," he said.

According to records from the National Food Agency, 2024 SPHP rice will be carried out evenly throughout Indonesia in the form of 5 kg bulk and packaging at various prices.

Prices in Zone 1 include Java, Lampung, South Sumatra, Bali, NTB, and Sulawesi amounting to IDR 10,900 per kg.

Zone 2 covers Sumatra apart from Lampung and South Sumatra, NTT, and Kalimantan amounting to Rp11,500 per kg.

Zone 3 which includes Maluku and Papua is IDR 11,800 per kg. People can get SPHP rice in traditional markets, modern retailers, Perum Bulog outlets, local governments, and other shops that are partners of Perum Bulog. The National Food Agency said the plan to distribute SPHP rice throughout 2024 is estimated to reach 1.2 million tons. This effort was made to maintain supply stability and food prices and control inflation.