PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – The Indonesian government is committed to strengthening downstream industries to achieve economic growth of 6-8% as outlined in the National Long-Term Development Plan (2025-2045). A key strategy involves advancing ten priority industries with a primary focus on the agro sector. This policy aims to enhance industrial structures from upstream to downstream and capitalize on Indonesia’s abundant palm oil resources.
Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita highlighted the substantial benefits generated by the downstream palm oil industry. “In 2011, there were only 48 types of palm oil derivatives, but by 2024, this has expanded to around 200 products,” Agus stated, as reported by Palmoilmagazine.com on Friday (11/10).
Indonesia is also leading in biodiesel innovation, being the first country to implement B30. “We will continue advancing to B40 and aspire to reach B100,” he added.
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This statement responded to World Bank Asia Pacific Chief Economist Aaditya Mattoo’s remarks on Indonesia’s reliance on global commodity prices, especially coal and palm oil. Agus noted that Indonesia’s robust downstream sectors have helped reduce reliance on raw palm oil exports.
“Palm oil downstream sector would be enough even though the price fluctuation would have something to with but it would not be significant to the economy nationally,” he said.
Back to Mattoo, he said that the close import restriction policy made manufacturer sectors not strong enough to help the economy when they got cheaper. Agus thought import restriction policy was published as the affirmative action to protect the domestic industries.
“There is nothing wrong with import restriction. We just restricted product imports. The materials would be significant for the other industries in this country to increase the competition,” Agus claimed and said that the policy would be effective namely when the globe got sluggish because of pandemic and conflicts.
“Manufacturer products in this country helped the economy and the game changer when the crisis took place in this world,” he said.
He also mentioned that protection policy was published by many countries locally to protect their markets. “Many countries published closer regulation of foreign products but we loosened it,” he said.
In the response to national scale media about the World Bank reported, Agus felt strange because it did not specifically discuss commodity price fluctuation and import restriction policy. “I did not find any quote that discussed the issues in the World Bank’s report,” he said by assuming that there would be misunderstanding about the news.
The Government of Indonesia would remain optimist with downstream industries and would publish the best policy so that the industries in this country would be stronger and more competitive in the globe. Palm oil downstream industries and affirmative policies about imports would be the significant things to confirm the stability and economic progress in the future. (P2)
