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resident Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo kicked off on Friday a simultaneous premium rice market operation nationwide as worsening drought, triggered by El Niño, has affected rice production in several regions.

Under the market operation, the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) is expected to distribute 300,000 tons of premium rice nationwide.

During Friday'€™s launch of the operation at the Bulog warehouse in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, 1,034 tons of rice were distributed in five areas, including 480 tons of rice for Jakarta, 110 tons for Medan in North Sumatra, 114 tons in Bandung, West Java, 130 tons in Semarang, Central Java, and 170 tons in Surabaya, East Java.

Bulog president director Djarot Kusumayakti said the market operation was part of efforts '€œto stabilize food prices, and at the same time, show that the government is always ready to ease people'€™s burdens during tough times.

Djarot also said that the move could stop rice hoarding and price speculation.

The price of premium rice currently stands between Rp 8,700 per kilogram and 9,700 per kg.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recently recorded a 2 percent average increase in prices of various rice grades year-on-year (yoy) in September.

Although he seemed relieved that representatives of the five areas were optimistic that the prices could be lowered during a video conference held during the launch of the operation, Jokowi said he wanted to see '€œthat the rice is affordable and stocks are available'€.

According to Jokowi, Bulog was buying rice from farmers and local traders as harvests continued to take place in several areas, including the country'€™s rice bowl of Karawang in West Java, to ensure national rice stocks were safe.

Jokowi also maintained that the government would not need to import rice despite the low stocks and a possible decline in production brought about by the prolonged dry season.

Jokowi, however, has also acknowledged that Indonesia'€™s 1.7 million tons of rice stocks were among the lowest in Asia.

Djarot said the existing rice stocks of 1.7 million tons at Bulog '€œare still quite safe'€.

To provide a steady supply of the staple food, Bulog also distributed 464,000 tons of additional subsidized rice, called beras sejahtera (prosperous rice), which was aimed at stabilizing rice prices.

The beras sejahtera program has been extended to 14 months, instead of 12 months, amid concerns over the impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon that has cut rice production in some regions.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said earlier that this year'€™s El Niño would reach its peak in October, matching the intensity of El Niño in 1997, which induced a prolonged drought and triggered widespread fires.

El Niño is a weather phenomenon associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean causing a significant reduction in Indonesian rainfall.