PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – Amidst global economic uncertainty, one crucial factor to observe is inflation. While advanced countries grapple with inflation, Indonesia has managed to maintain inflation rates at less than 3 percent. However, the challenges posed by the 2024 El Nino phenomenon are expected to escalate inflation once again. The solution lies within the food sector, addressing issues in the plantation sector (upstream) rather than downstream sectors.
Indonesia’s economic progress in 2024 is projected to increase by 3 percent, driven by investments expected to surge by 30 percent from 2021 to 2023. However, it’s important to note that these investments may not significantly boost employment as they tend to be capital-intensive rather than labor-intensive. In this context, the National Budget and Revenue will play significant roles in stimulating consumption levels.
Admittedly or not, future economic conditions are still in the midst of uncertainty, not to mention that Indonesia is holding a presidential election this year. Aviliani, a senior economist who is also the President Commissioner of Allo Bank, said that interest rate is expected to remain high, while global economic growth is affected by monetary and geopolitical factors.
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“The Asian countries faced the challenges in high inflation. Indonesia itself keeps trying to get increasing economic development at five percent though to reach 7 percent would have heavier challenges,” she said in an event that Palmoilmagazine.com, joind in January 2024 in Jakarta.
She also said, in the global dynamic, palm oil sector would remain as the main power but it needs to get structural improvement in the upstream sector to confirm its sustainability. It is also about housing consumption as the biggest pillar and increasing plantation productivity. These would be the successful keys to develop the future palm oil sectors.
“Every planter both in the upstream and downstream sectors should unite and cooperate to face every challenge in Indonesia to sustainably realize economic development,” she said. (T2)
