State-run agricultural company PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) V disbursed 12 tons of cheap cooking oil and sugar to strengthen the community’s food security amid a surge in the commodities’ prices.

“Amid the 2022 Ramadan month, we have distributed six tons of cheap cooking oil and six tons of cheap sugar to the people of Riau Province,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PTPN V Jatmiko Santosa noted in a statement here on Thursday.

The items were packed into six thousand packages. Each one contained one liter of Salvaco cooking oil and one kilogram of high-quality Walini sugar produced by the PTPN Holding.

The CEO remarked that the company had subsidized each package up to 50 percent. Hence, each package was sold to the public at Rp17,500 (US$1.21).

He noted that the distribution program had been implemented for the past week in six regions around the company’s operational areas in Riau Province: Kampar District, Rokan Hulu District, Rokan Hilir District, Siak District, Indragiri Hulu District, and Pekanbaru City.

In Pekanbaru City, the activity was conducted at the office of the Board of Directors of PTPN V in two days, on April 26-27, 2022, to avoid any crowds since there were two thousand packages distributed at the office.

Earlier, coupons had been given by the local neighborhood (RT) authorities to the people determined eligible to buy the cheap packages.

“All praises be to God, we have got a very positive response from the beneficiaries,” Santosa remarked.

Meanwhile, Ashari, a local community leader, lauded the corporation’s attempts in distributing the basic needs to the local community.

“We are very grateful to get the sugar and cooking oil at very cheap prices. The assistance is very beneficial for the community,” he added.

Source: Antara News