Sugar inclusion in food aid programme to be reviewed, says deputy minister
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Coordinating Minister for Food Hanif Faisol Nurofiq has stated that a proposal to include sugar in the government’s food aid programme still requires comprehensive study, considering various interrelated aspects. Speaking at the Nusantara Milk Day commemoration in Jakarta on Sunday, Hanif said the government continues to examine various inputs regarding the strengthening of food aid to support national food security in a sustainable manner.
“In the context of food self-sufficiency, of course it is an important matter. However, regarding sugar being included as a component of food aid, it seems there has been no discussion yet,” Hanif told ANTARA.
One of the proposals came from sugarcane farmers who are pushing for sugar to become part of the government’s food aid package. Hanif said the government appreciates all input from stakeholders as material for consideration in formulating appropriate and beneficial food policies for the public.
He emphasised that discussions on the possible addition of commodities to food aid must be conducted carefully, taking into account various interconnected aspects. Beyond strengthening the national food sector, the government is also considering other factors to ensure that any policy adopted provides optimal benefits for the wider community.
Hanif affirmed that the government will continue to open dialogue and conduct studies on various strategic proposals to strengthen food security and support national food self-sufficiency. However, he noted that there has been no discussion yet regarding the proposal to add sugar to the current food aid components, which consist of rice and cooking oil targeting 33.2 million beneficiary families across Indonesia.
“As long as there has been no discussion, we have not examined it yet. Because the need for sugar cannot be viewed from just one side; there are other aspects we also need to consider,” he said.
The Indonesian Sugarcane Farmers Association (APTRI) has urged the government to include granulated sugar in the national food aid programme to strengthen protections for sugarcane farmers and maintain balance in the domestic sugar market. APTRI believes adding sugar to food aid could be a strategic move by the government to help maintain public purchasing power while increasing certainty over the absorption of national farmers’ sugar production.
According to the association, the volume of sugar required in food aid does not need to be as large as that of rice, because public sugar consumption is much smaller compared to daily national rice needs. APTRI proposed that the government distribute one kilogramme of sugar in each food aid package if rice distribution reaches 10 kilogrammes per beneficiary.
“There is no need to give a lot of sugar, because the volume of sugar needed is 10 percent of the rice requirement. So if 10 kilogrammes of rice is given, just give one kilogramme of sugar, if sugar is considered too expensive,” said APTRI Chairman Soemitro Samadikoen after the opening of the APTRI National Working Meeting in Jakarta on Monday.
The government, through the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), is currently distributing food aid in the form of rice and cooking oil to 33.2 million beneficiary families across various regions in Indonesia in stages. Under the economic stimulus programme, each beneficiary family receives an allocation for February-March 2026 consisting of 20 kilogrammes of rice and four litres of cooking oil to help meet public needs. Bulog is currently intensifying the distribution of this aid to reach the target.