MBG Project Pause Has Minimal Impact on Tabanan Vegetable Traders

The Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) project has been suspended during the school holiday season. However, vegetable sales at Baturiti Market in Tabanan, Bali, have not been significantly affected by the programme’s hiatus. One trader, Ni Made Erni, stated that sales have declined recently, but she attributed this to the series of Balinese religious holidays from Galungan to Kuningan. “During the holidays, people’s purchasing power decreases,” Erni said on Tuesday (30/6/2026). Erni acknowledged that her stall has established cooperation with several Satuan Pelayanan Pemenuhan Gizi (SPPG) kitchens in Tabanan, supplying vegetables for the MBG programme. She assessed that the impact of the MBG project’s suspension on vegetable prices is not substantial. While demand from the food provider kitchens has slightly decreased, the effect is minimal. “Usually, a few baskets are taken (by the SPPG), now it’s slightly reduced,” Erni added. “But the impact is not too great because the main harvest season is more dominant.” Erni explained that the prices of several vegetable commodities have been declining for some time, a trend she attributed to the peak harvest season and weather conditions. Leafy green vegetables are the type most affected by this oversupply. She noted that during the rainy season, production typically falls, leading to higher prices. Conversely, during a bumper harvest like now, prices drop to around IDR 2,000 to IDR 3,000 per kilogram. Other commodities, such as bird’s eye chilli, have also seen price decreases, currently selling for around IDR 40,000 per kilogram, down from previous levels. Among the vegetables experiencing price drops, pokcoy has fallen drastically from IDR 9,000 per kilogram to around IDR 3,000 per kilogram, while the price of napa cabbage has decreased from IDR 8,000 to IDR 4,000 per kilogram. Meanwhile, the prices of other vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, and green beans remain relatively stable. However, the price of carrots remains high at IDR 270 per box, or IDR 27,000 per kilogram, up from IDR 13,000.