"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" Bulog

Perum Bulog begins its challenging journey in 2026. Its ability to strengthen government food reserves, distribute food assistance, and stabilize food stocks and prices will be tested throughout this year.

His presence in almost every region of Indonesia is always eagerly awaited, both in special and normal situations. This presence is like the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, or the technique of creating hundreds or even thousands of physical clones—not just shadows—of Naruto, a Japanese anime character.

Throughout 2025, Bulog struggled to carry out several government mandates. The government tasked Bulog with absorbing 3 million tons of paddy equivalent to rice for the government rice reserves (CBP).

The grain purchased consists of dry harvested grain (GKP) of any quality or various grades without refining. Bulog must purchase the GKP at a minimum of the government purchase price (HPP), which is set at Rp 6,500 per kilogram (kg).

Bulog is also requested to absorb 300,000 tons of dry shelled corn from farmers for the government's corn reserve (CJP). The corn must be purchased by Bulog at a minimum price according to the HPP, which is Rp 5,500 per kg. The CJP will be used to stabilize the stock and price of animal feed.

From a funding perspective, Bulog is not as concerned as in previous years. This is because Bulog has been appointed as the Government Investment Operator (OIP) since January 24, 2025.

From the funding perspective, Bulog is not as concerned as in previous years. This is because Bulog has been appointed as the Government Investment Operator (OIP) since January 24, 2025, based on the Minister of Finance's Letter Number S-38/MK.5/2025.

As an OIP, Bulog is entitled to receive investment funds from the 2025 State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) amounting to IDR 16.6 trillion for the procurement of government food reserves. The funds, disbursed through the State Investment Account (RIBUN), serve as an alternative source of financing in addition to subsidies.

It is not surprising that throughout 2025, the total procurement of CBP by Bulog could reach 3.19 million tons. This CBP comes from the absorption of 4.54 million tons of GKP, 6,863 tons of milled dry unhusked rice (GKG), and 765,504 tons of rice.

This achievement is different from that of CJP. From a target absorption of 300,000 tons, Bulog was only able to realize 101,968 tons. Of that amount, 101,770 tons were absorbed through the public service obligation (PSO) scheme and 198 tons commercially.

Meanwhile, from the perspective of production quality and rice management, Bulog faces several challenges. The production costs of Bulog rice become increasingly high if the harvested grain (GKP) obtained is of low or even poor quality. The quality of Bulog rice derived from such grain is also at stake.

Bulog is also experiencing "obesity" in its CBP despite having around 1,500 warehouses spread across Indonesia. This forces Bulog to incur additional expenses to rent subsidiary warehouses.

Not only that, Bulog still holds a stock of rice imported from several countries in 2024. In early October 2025, the National Food Agency (Bapanas) reported that 29,990 tons of Bulog rice had deteriorated in quality. The rice that has declined in quality consists of 3,100 tons from domestic procurement and 26,890 tons from imports or procurement from abroad.

Bapanas also found that 1.45 million tons of imported rice, or 37.95 percent of the total CBP, had been stored for more than six months. Bulog was instructed to reprocess the rice to improve its quality before distribution. If it is truly unfit for consumption, the degraded rice will be auctioned off for animal feed (Kompas, 6/10/2025).

In addition to the procurement of rice and corn, Bulog is also stocking Minyakita or simple packaged cooking oil as part of the People's Cooking Oil program. Bulog has also been tasked with distributing food assistance in the form of rice and cooking oil to 18.3 million low-income families.

Bulog also serves as the main spearhead of the Food Supply and Price Stabilization Program (SPHP) and the distribution of feed corn for smallholder chicken farmers. Bulog reported that throughout 2025, the distribution of SPHP rice reached 795,000 tons, food aid in the form of rice amounted to 785,000 tons, and feed corn totaled 51,211 tons.

In disaster emergency situations, Bulog also distributed disaster assistance amounting to 14,227 tons of rice in the Sumatra region. Of this total, Aceh received 8,676 tons of rice, North Sumatra 4,482 tons of rice, and West Sumatra 1,069 tons of rice.

In 2026, Bulog will face a similar yet distinct set of conditions and work patterns. Why is it different? From the perspective of the CBP and CJP targets, the government has increased the absorption targets for rice and corn to 4 million tons equivalent to rice and 1 million tons of dry shelled corn, respectively.

Bulog, along with ID Food, is also required to manage the government's cooking oil reserves (CMGP). These two state-owned enterprises will serve as the main distributors (D1) of Minyakita. They will receive a share of Minyakita amounting to 35 percent of the total realization of the domestic market supply obligations (DMO) of exporters of various palm oil derivative products.

Since 2014, Bulog's fee margin has remained unchanged at Rp 50 per kg. Yet, distributing rice, especially to remote areas, requires significant logistical costs.

From the funding aspect, the government will allocate Rp 22.7 trillion to Bulog through the 2026 State Budget. In addition, the government will also roll out a budget of approximately Rp 5 trillion to build 100 Bulog warehouses.

Despite this, Bulog hopes the government will increase the margin fee, or profit margin, for distributing SPHP rice based on government assignments. Since 2014, Bulog's margin fee has remained unchanged at Rp 50 per kg. Yet, rice distribution, especially to remote areas, requires significant logistical costs.

In a coordination meeting at the Coordinating Ministry for Food on December 29, 2025, the proposed margin fee was 7-10 percent of the equivalent rice procurement cost. The proposal refers to the government's assignment scheme to PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero) and PT Pertamina (Persero), which receive a 10 percent margin fee.

On the other hand, Bulog also requires funding for the procurement of CMGP. This is considering that Minyakita from the DMO results is not provided for free or subsidized. Bulog and ID Food must purchase it at a price of Rp 13,500 per liter before selling it to retailers at a price of Rp 14,500 per liter.

The Rp 22.7 trillion in funding from the 2026 State Budget may not be sufficient, especially if the government continues to enforce the policy of purchasing GKP of any quality from farmers at the HPP of Rp 6,500 per kg.

Not only that, Bulog will also face the same challenges as last year. Bulog needs to maintain the quality of the CBP to prevent disposal. One of the keys is to increase and expand the distribution channels of Bulog.

Bulog also still needs to distribute food assistance to disaster-affected communities in Sumatra. As food stocks and prices fluctuate, Bulog will inevitably be tasked by the government to conduct market operations or the SPHP program.

With its growing responsibilities, Bulog needs to optimize its "kage bunshin no jutsu" strategy. This strategy is not merely a fantasy, but truly represents Bulog's presence, including in eastern Indonesia.