Mentrans Invites Chinese Investors To Develop Durian Industry In Transmigration Areas

JAKARTA - Minister of Transmigration (Mentrans) Muhammad Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara invites Chinese investors to collaborate to develop the durian industry in transmigration areas by exploiting the advantages of Indonesia's fertile land and productive workforce.

While on the sidelines of the Full 24 Hour Open House at the Office of the Ministry of Transmigration, Jakarta, Saturday, October 18, Iftitah conveyed the invitation after she had a dialogue with a doctoral student in China who asked the benefits of the transmigration program not only for the Indonesian people, but also for the Chinese people.

China is one of the countries with the largest durian consumption in the world, where the value of their durian import expenditure reaches around IDR 115 trillion annually, he said, explaining.

However, according to him, China does not have geographical conditions that make it possible to grow durian, while Indonesia has a tropical climate and a vast area that is perfect for the development of these superior commodities.

"China expenditures for durian Rp115 trillion per year. But looking for areas in China that can sink durian does not exist. In Indonesia, almost every place can grow durian," said Iftitah.

Therefore, he offers concrete cooperation in the form of investment partnerships between China and transmigration areas in Indonesia for the development of export-oriented durian plantations and increasing local added value.

"So I invite them to bring their money, bring the technology, we prepare land and workforce in Indonesia for us to plant durian," he said.

"And later in addition to being consumed for the Indonesian people, we will also send them to China with better productivity, better quality," Iftitah added.

Such cross-border collaboration will bring dual benefits, strengthen the economy of transmigrant communities, expand the export market of Indonesian fruit, and make transmigration a productive center of new economic growth, he said, asserting.

Even so, he has not explained in more detail the technical form of the investment invitation, including the implementation mechanism, the cooperation scheme, and the transmigration area which will be a development priority.

The Minister of Transmigration opened up opportunities for international investment cooperation by utilizing more than 500 thousand hectares of productive transmigration land for the development of export-oriented industries and agriculture.

"We are currently conducting an inventory of transmigration land. We still have more than 500,000 hectares of land that we can manage and develop," said Iftitah.