Budget 2025 Down, Trade Minister Zulhas Asks For Additional IDR 2.4 Trillion

Minister of Trade (Mendag) Zulkifli Hasan. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Trade (Mendag) Zulkifli Hasan asked the Ministry of Trade's indicative morning (Kemendag) for the 2025 budget year to be added to IDR 2.4 trillion.

Meanwhile, based on a joint letter from the Minister of National Development Planning/Head of Bappenas and Minister of Finance, the indicative ceiling of the Ministry of Trade in 2025 is set at IDR 1.65 trillion. The 2025 budget will decrease by 15.67 percent when compared to 2024.

Regarding the addition of this budget, the man who is familiarly called Zulhas admitted that he had sent a letter to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on April 30.

"The Ministry of Trade has proposed an additional budget. We have conveyed to the President through a letter as of April 30, 2024 regarding the request for an additional 2025 budget of IDR 2.4 trillion. So that the indicative morning of the Ministry of Trade in 2025 (to be) IDR 4 trillion," he said in a working meeting with Commission VI of the DPR, at the Parliament Complex, Thursday, June 13.

Zulhas revealed that the indicative ceiling will be used for operational and non-operational expenditures. Consisting of operational expenditures of IDR 1.13 trillion. Employee expenditure of IDR 675 billion, goods expenditure of IDR 458 billion, and non-operational expenditure of IDR 525.5 billion.

"For technical programs, it is allocated to finance the implementation of activities in accordance with the performance target set in the 2025 RPJMN and RKP," he explained.

Furthermore, Zulhas said there were around 11 priorities for the Ministry of Trade's budget in 2025. One of them is the development of e-commerce.

"The development of this small e-commerce is only IDR 2.59 billion. The regent's budget is lost, sir, IDR 2 billion. It's small, just make up now (the budget)," he said.

Then, continued Zulhas, the facilities for export center business actors amounted to Rp58.49 billion. Then, domestic business facilities are Rp23.11 billion. Furthermore, securing international trade is Rp15.34 billion.

Then, supervision of transactions and compliance of warehouse management systems of Rp9.8 billion. Then, the development of inter-regional traders in Indonesia is Rp37.o6 billion. Next, for the development of human resources of Rp17.37 billion.

Next, the provision of basic material price data (hapokting) amounted to Rp11.68 billion. Then, consumer protection amounted to Rp42 billion. Furthermore, international trade negotiations amounted to Rp22.84 billion. Finally, export promotions amounted to Rp60 billion.