Jakarta, Sept. 4 -- Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian has called on regional governments to maximize the use of Stabilization of Food Supply and Prices (SPHP) rice provided by Bulog to curb rising food prices.

Speaking at a coordination meeting in Jakarta on Thursday, attended by representatives from 214 regions, Karnavian emphasized the urgency of intervention amid increasing rice prices.

"It's time to fully utilize government rice reserves at Bulog so local governments can act," he said.

According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), rice remains a major driver of inflation. The number of regions reporting price hikes rose from 200 to 214 between the third and fourth weeks of August.

To address this, the Ministry of Agriculture, the...