JAKARTA - Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said, RI is the world's top five coconut producing country, but does not yet have a policy of trading in coconut raw materials such as banning exports, export fees and lartas.
This was conveyed by Agus during a meeting with the Indonesian Coconut Processing Industry Association (HIPKI) at the office of the Ministry of Industry, Jakarta, Wednesday, April 30. This meeting was to discuss the scarcity of raw materials for the coconut processing industry.
"Meanwhile, other coconut producing countries such as the Philippines, India, Thailand and Sri Lanka have implemented a policy of banning exports to maintain added value to the coconut economy, employment opportunities and the sustainability of the coconut processing industry," Agus said as quoted from a written statement, Thursday, May 1.
Agus said, since the downstream coconut program was declared to have succeeded in attracting investment from various countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, China and Sri Lanka. However, currently these companies have difficulty operating due to the scarcity of coconut raw materials.
Currently, Indonesian coconuts are more likely to be exported in the form of round coconut because there are no trade regulations yet.
"Exporters are not exempted, while domestic industries buy coconut from farmers subject to Article 22 of the PPh tax, so the playing field between exporters and the domestic coconut industry is not the same," he said.
The need for consumption, especially for households and Small and Medium Industries (IKM) is around two billion coconut grains per year. Because now coconut is widely exported to other countries and there is a shortage of coconut supply in traditional markets, causing an increase in prices and household consumers to become victims of this price increase.
Exports in the form of round coconut from Indonesia to other countries are feared to shift the market of Indonesian downstream products which have been strong in the global market and are filled with downstream coconut products from competing countries whose raw materials are from Indonesia.
The products in question include coconut oil, decicated coconut, nata de coco, concentrate coconut water, active charcoal and briquettes.
It is known, the export market share of coconut products throughout 2024 reached two billion US dollars, of which 85 percent were processed coconut products.
If the condition of scarcity of raw materials that hit the coconut processing industry continues, the state can potentially lose foreign exchange results from the export of the coconut processing industry and it is feared that it will have an impact on around 21,000 workers.
The Minister of Industry continues to coordinate intensively together with business actors and coconut associations to find solutions for coconut supply demand while still prioritizing the welfare of farmers.
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