D-2 2024 Election, Bulog Calls The Distribution Of Rice Social Assistance Stopped Until February 15

Illustration. Port workers lower imported rice from Vietnam that reads 'Bulog Rice' at Malahayati Port, Aceh Besar. (ANTARA-Ampelsa)

Perum Bulog ensures that the distribution of social assistance (bansos) for rice food is temporarily suspended by D-2 for voting for the 2024 General Election or today, Monday, February 12.

President Director of Perum Bulog Bayu Krisnamuthi said the social assistance would resume on February 15, after the 2024 election vote.

"Food assistance will run again on February 15," said Bayu when met at the Jakarta Presidential Palace, on Monday, February 12, was confiscated by Antara.

The government has decided to temporarily suspend the distribution of food aid sourced from the Bulog-managed 'Government Rice Supply' stock on February 8-14, 2024 in honor of the implementation of elections.

The cessation of food assistance ahead of the quiet period and voting for the 2024 General Election also at the same time emphasized that there was no politicization of food aid.

According to Bayu, the current stock of rice in Bulog's warehouse is 1.189 million tons.

In addition, the government has allocated 2 million tons of rice from imports, which has just realized 500 thousand tons.

Bayu said long preparations needed to be made to secure national rice stocks, especially when facing drought which is expected to occur in June, July, and October.

Meanwhile, Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi estimates that national rice production according to the Area Sample Framework Survey (KSA) of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) at the upcoming March harvest could exceed 34 million tons.

"This means that in March we hope that the price of rice can drop slightly," he said.

During the harvest period, he said, Badanas and the Ministry of Agriculture will coordinate to prepare optimal absorption to prevent falling prices at the farmer level.