A number of rice traders at Pasar Rumput in South Jakarta say they do\nnot sell rice under the Food Supply and Price Stabilisation (SPHP)\nprogramme run by state logistics company Perum Bulog. They cite several\nreasons, including what they regard as complicated purchasing\nrequirements, the need for substantial capital and concerns about the\nquality of the rice supplied.<\/p>\n
During a visit by CNBC Indonesia to Pasar Rumput on Friday (16\nOctober 2026), traders said the SPHP sales mechanism needed to be\nimproved to make it more accessible to small-scale retailers.<\/p>\n
Bayu, a rice trader, said traders had to prepare considerable capital\nto buy SPHP rice. Purchasing in large quantities, he said, could impede\ncash turnover, particularly if the rice did not sell quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith SPHP, sales depend on whether people want to buy it. Yet we\nhave to stock at least one tonne. Traders here need their money to keep\ncirculating. If I use my money to buy SPHP, my capital can\u2019t turn over,\u201d\nBayu told CNBC Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Bayu added that the process of buying and selling SPHP rice was\ncumbersome. For example, customers wishing to buy it had to register\ntheir personal details through the Bulog app.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe requirements are complicated. If someone wants to buy SPHP, they\nhave to register their personal details on the Bulog app. We traders\ndon\u2019t want a hassle; if we have goods, we sell them. But under Bulog\u2019s\nsystem, if I\u2019m selling it, the buyer has to update their details with\nBulog before I can serve them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Bayu also criticised the pre-order (PO) system, which requires\ntraders to order rice without first being able to inspect its quality.\nThis could hinder sales if the rice delivered did not meet expectations,\nhe said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes Bulog rice is sold on a pre-order basis. If I order one\ntonne, I can\u2019t see the quality first. Once the goods arrive, whether\nthey\u2019re good or bad, I have to accept them,\u201d Bayu said.<\/p>\n
He said the quality of deliveries could vary. If the rice was poor,\nit was harder to sell, and traders could not return it.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes it\u2019s bad, sometimes it\u2019s good. We can\u2019t choose; it depends\non what gets delivered. If it\u2019s good, it\u2019s easy to sell. But if the rice\nthat arrives is poor, sales stall and it can\u2019t be returned. That\u2019s the\ndilemma for traders,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Another trader, Dedi, also said he did not sell SPHP rice because of\nthe capital required and uncertainty about consumer demand.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have SPHP. You have to buy a lot, while customers here may\nnot necessarily be looking for that rice,\u201d Dedi said.<\/p>\n
Rena, another rice trader, said SPHP rice was difficult to sell\nbecause its packaging did not suit her shop\u2019s sales model, which mainly\ninvolved selling loose rice.<\/p>\n
\u201cSPHP is hard to sell. It comes in five-kilogram sacks, whereas I\nmostly sell rice loose,\u201d Rena said.<\/p>\n
Traders call for clearer SPHP distribution<\/strong><\/p>\n Although he does not sell SPHP rice, Bayu said the programme could\nstill help the public. However, he urged the government and Bulog to\nclarify the purchasing process and widen retailers\u2019 access to\nsupplies.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does help to some extent with price intervention. But the rules\nfor selling or buying from distributors for traders like me aren\u2019t\nclear. At Bulog, you have to have a cooperative or a limited company to\nbuy. The cooperative here doesn\u2019t handle that kind of thing. So if I\nwant to place an order, where do I order from?\u201d Bayu said.<\/p>\n Bayu proposed making SPHP rice available at the Cipinang Rice Main\nMarket (PIBC), so small-scale traders could obtain it more easily.<\/p>\n \u201cSupply SPHP to the wholesale market. It can come in 50-kilogram or\nfive-kilogram sacks; the important thing is to get it into the wholesale\nmarket first. At the moment, no stock is coming in there. Yet that could\nhelp curb rising rice prices,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Bayu said making SPHP distribution more accessible to traders could\nhelp contain rice-price volatility. He hoped purchases would not be\nrestricted to traders with a registered business or cooperative, and\nthat individual traders would also be able to buy under clear\nprocedures.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/traders-hesitant-to-sell-sphp-rice-citing-high-costs-and-complicated-procedures-1792133485",
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