Indonesia budgets more than US$500mil for additional rice for the poor

JAKARTA: Indonesia has increased its social welfare budget by 8 trillion rupiah ($532.41 million) to distribute more rice to lower-income households and help control food prices, the finance minister said on Monday.

The decision came after the country's weather agency warned that the El Niño weather pattern is set to bring drought to parts of the archipelago, which could hurt its rice output at a time when international prices are rising after India halted exports last week.