Government Extends Food Aid Programme
The government is extending food aid for 33.24 million recipients from July to September 2026 as an effort to maintain people’s purchasing power amidst global economic uncertainty. The policy is part of an economic stimulus package worth Rp26.34 trillion prepared to support economic growth in the second half of 2026.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said the food aid will be provided for three months, namely July, August, and September 2026. “This food aid is continued for three months, namely July, August, and September for 33.24 million recipients,” Airlangga said during a media briefing on the Semester II 2026 Economic Growth Stimulus at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs office in Central Jakarta, Monday (22/6/2026).
Airlangga explained that the budget prepared for the food aid programme reaches approximately Rp17.54 trillion. The government is also continuing the Food Supply and Price Stabilisation (SPHP) programme through a subsidy for soybeans for tofu and tempeh artisans amounting to Rp2,000 per kilogram with a quota of 250,000 tonnes.
According to Airlangga, the measures are taken to maintain domestic economic activity while anticipating the ongoing impact of global uncertainty. “We need to continue to safeguard the domestic economy and must also take proactive steps to prevent and anticipate external risks that may arise,” he said.
In addition to food aid, the government is providing various transport incentives during the school holiday and Christmas-New Year (Nataru) periods. These incentives include a 30 percent discount on train tickets, a 30 percent discount on Pelni ship base fares, exemption from ASDP port service fees, and a 100 percent Government-Borne Value Added Tax (PPN DTP) facility for scheduled domestic economy class flight tickets.
Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi said the train ticket discount for the school holiday period applies from 20 June to 5 July 2026, while the Pelni ship base fare discount runs from 20 June to 15 August 2026. For the Christmas and New Year period, the 30 percent train ticket discount applies from 22 December 2026 to 4 January 2027, while the Pelni ship base fare discount is provided from 17 December 2026 to 10 January 2027. “The total budget for transport incentives and discounts during the two major moments, both the school holidays and Nataru, is Rp1.54 trillion,” Dudy said.
The government is also continuing the national internship and vocational training programme to strengthen workforce quality. Minister of Manpower Yassierli said the second batch of the national internship programme in 2026 is targeted to reach 150,000 participants. Meanwhile, the vocational training programme is aimed at 220,000 participants, including 50,000 workers affected by layoffs.
Airlangga added that the total economic stimulus in the second half of 2026 consists of transport incentives of around Rp2.04 trillion, internship and vocational programmes of Rp6.26 trillion, and food aid of Rp18.04 trillion. With these various stimuli, the government hopes that household consumption and domestic economic activity will be maintained, thereby supporting national economic growth in the second half of the year.