Bali Merah Putih cooperatives log Rp765.76m in early 2026 transactions

Denpasar — Bali’s Merah Putih village cooperatives booked transactions worth Rp765.76 million from a total of 32,763 transactions as of May 2026, according to data from the Bali office of the Directorate General of Treasury reported by local media.

The figure was reported in late June as an early performance snapshot for Merah Putih cooperatives in Bali. The report stated that the Rp765.76 million total came from 32,763 transactions, alongside principal member savings of Rp900.96 million and mandatory savings of Rp303.70 million. The sources did not specify whether the transaction value represents gross sales or another accounting measure.

The Merah Putih programme in Bali covers 716 cooperatives, made up of 636 village units and 80 urban-district units, all of which had obtained tax identification numbers according to the same data. Of these cooperatives, 496 had secured business identification numbers and 238 had opened bank accounts, indicating that formal registration is progressing faster than documented banking readiness.

Early operating indicators

Based on the reported figures, around two-thirds of Bali’s Merah Putih cooperatives had business identification numbers by May 2026, and roughly one-third had bank accounts, calculated from the total of 716 units. The difference between formal establishment and banked status suggests that many cooperatives were still moving from organisational setup to full operational capability.

The same Treasury-based reporting noted that the Rp900.96 million in principal savings and Rp303.70 million in mandatory savings are member contributions, not revenue or profit. These figures represent capital built up by cooperative members, whereas the Rp765.76 million in transactions reflects recorded economic activity.

The available reports did not detail which goods or services accounted for most of the transactions. However, national coverage of the Merah Putih programme describes plans for agency partnerships with state-owned and private enterprises in areas such as food, rice, fertiliser, oil and gas, and medicines, to supply cooperative outlets and warehouses. No Bali-specific breakdown of the product mix in the May transactions was provided.

Annual meetings show governance, not full activity

By 31 August 2026, 695 of Bali’s 716 Merah Putih cooperatives had held their annual member meetings (Rapat Anggota Tahunan, RAT) for the 2025 financial year, according to the provincial Cooperative and Small and Medium Enterprises Agency. That completion rate of 97.07 percent was reported by regional media citing the agency.

Agency officials quoted in local coverage stressed that the high RAT completion rate mainly reflects organisational compliance rather than proven business activity. According to the provincial cooperative agency, many meetings focused on accountability for member contributions and planning for future business operations, and some cooperatives had yet to start fully active trading.

Reports from Bali media noted that several districts, including Jembrana, Tabanan, Bangli and Denpasar, had reached full RAT completion, while Klungkung recorded the lowest rate, with 50 of 59 cooperatives holding meetings. The remaining 21 cooperatives across Bali had not completed their RAT agendas by the end of August.

Funding context from national policy

The Bali figures sit within a much larger national funding push for the Merah Putih cooperative programme. The central government has earmarked 58.03 percent of the 2026 Village Fund budget, equivalent to about Rp34.57 trillion, to support Merah Putih cooperatives, based on Minister of Finance Regulation (PMK) No. 7 of 2026. Total Village Fund allocations for 2026 were set at around Rp60.57 trillion, leaving roughly Rp25 trillion for regular village programmes outside the cooperative scheme.

According to analyses of PMK 7/2026 by economic and policy observers, the redirected funds are intended to finance cooperative physical facilities, including outlets, warehouses and equipment, as well as operational support. Officials have argued that channeling Village Fund resources into Merah Putih cooperatives is meant to strengthen rural economies, while critics warn that diverting more than half of the Village Fund narrows room for other basic village services.

Taken together, the May transaction data and August RAT coverage provide an initial picture of Bali’s Merah Putih cooperatives as largely established and formally compliant, but with limited publicly available detail on how many units are already running substantial businesses or which sectors are driving their early transactions.

Sources

• Bali Post
• Tribun Bali
• KPPOD (Komite Pemantauan Pelaksanaan Otonomi Daerah)
• CNN Indonesia
• Suara.com
• Bisnis.com