Prabowo is surprised that Indonesia has the best coffee and chocolate but imports

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto revealed his surprise at the governance of several strategic commodities, such as coffee and chocolate, which are considered to have the best quality, but Indonesia still imports these commodities from abroad.

"We have the best coffee, chocolate, but we import Starbucks, Nestle, Nescafe. We have the best chocolate, but we import KitKat, we eat Cadbury, right," said President Prabowo when discussing downstream and industrialization with several journalists and economists at his private residence in Hambalang, Bogor Regency, West Java, this week, as quoted from the official broadcast of the Indonesian Government Communication Agency reported by ANTARA, Thursday, March 19.

The President then emphasized that his government was focused on implementing the downstreaming and industrialization of strategic commodities.

The President also introduced the concept of "industrial trees" which will be applied to all important commodities, such as metals, minerals, or coconut, coffee, and chocolate commodities.

According to the President, downstreaming is also the key to creating quality jobs for Indonesia's young generation.

"I want to be downstream. That's the only way. We must not export raw materials anymore. We must process the raw materials into derivatives of high-value industrial products," said President Prabowo in an event titled "President Prabowo Answers".

The President then gave an example of the government's plan to liquefy coconut commodities. "Coconut alone is considered (as) a miracle crop. Virgin coconut oil, it is considered a cancer, but we only have one-two coconut factories. As long as it is exported in bulk coconut," said the President.

Then, the President also highlighted the downstreaming of strategic minerals, bauxite.

"We have bauxite. Bauxite for alumina is processed into aluminum. Aluminum becomes a car, but we don't make bauxite processing. Japan doesn't have bauxite, he makes the best car. Yes. This is what we have to do," said Prabowo.

Therefore, Prabowo believes that the concept of industrial trees as part of the government's downstream policy needs to be immediately implemented for all strategic commodities.

"We have to build hundreds of factories. That's what we call the industrial tree. We have mapped it out, we actually have a plan. Industrial trees for all the important commodities we have," continued the President.