GOVT TO PROVIDE SUBSIDIZED SUGAR FOR POOR PEOPLE

Jakarta, Dec 16 (ANTARA) - The government has decided to provide subsidized sugar for the needy, a program which is like the subsidized rice for the poor that has been implemented so far, a deputy minister said.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Bayu Krisnamurthi said that the subsidized sugar would be designed for certain groups of people, or certain target families (RTS).

"So, this a targeted recipient subsidy," he said after a gathering with recipients of Food Resilience Awards 2009 at the Agriculture Ministry Building on Tuesday.

He said that the subsidy would be provided in anticipation of the increase in the price of the commodity following the projected decline of stocks in the country.

The deputy minister said that in the January - April 2010 period there would be no sugar milling activities at home production this was estimated to miss the target.

Therefore, in order to anticipate shortage of sugar stocks was that efforts to increase the stocks were made far before that period.

Krisnamurthi did not disclose the value of subsidized sugar the government would provide for the target families this year, neither did he mention the number of target families which would received the facility.***