Minister Of Trade Budi Proposed To Add A Budget Of IDR 568 Billion For 2026

Minister of Trade Budi Santoso (Photo: Mery Handayani/VOI)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Trade proposed an additional budget of IDR 586.67 billion for 2026. This budget will be used for operational and non-operational expenditure allocations.

Minister of Trade Budi Santoso said in accordance with a joint letter from the Budget Ceiling for Fiscal Year 2026, number S/505/MK.03/2025 and B/621/D.9/BB.04.03/07/2025, dated July 24, 2025 Regarding the Special K/L and DAK Budget Ceiling for 2026, the Ministry of Trade received a Budget Ceiling of IDR 1.4 trillion.

The Ministry of Trade's budget for 2026 also decreased by Rp200 billion compared to the previous year.

"If possible, the Ministry of Trade will submit an additional budget proposal that we have submitted to the Minister of Finance and Minister of Bappenas/Head of VAT of Rp586.67 billion," he said in a working meeting with Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Thursday, September 4.

Budi said the proposed additional budget was due to the decline in the Ministry of Trade's budget in recent years. Meanwhile, operational spending continues to increase, thus disrupting non-operational spending.

The Ministry of Trade's ceiling decreases every year. On the other hand, operational spending is increasing so that non-operational spending for achieving target indicators of trade performance is decreasing," he said.

Based on the presentation, the Ministry of Trade received a budget of IDR 2.27 trillion in 2023, then in 2024 it fell to IDR 1.96 trillion. Then, it fell again in 2025 to IDR 1.85 trillion, until finally in 2026 it became IDR 1.4 trillion.

The budget ceiling of IDR 1.4 trillion in 2026 consists of operational expenditures of IDR 1.19 trillion and non-operational expenditures of IDR 209.86 billion.

Meanwhile, in terms of programs, the budget includes management support of IDR 1.27 trillion, domestic trade of IDR 34.45 billion, and foreign trade of IDR 88.89 billion.

Budi said the Ministry of Trade would try to optimize the budget provided in running the program. Even so, he hopes that the additional budget proposal of IDR 586.67 billion can be approved.

"Paying attention to the limitations of the Ministry of Trade's budget ceiling in 2026, of course, we will try to allocate optimally to programs or activities to realize performance targets in 2026, however, if possible, the Ministry of Trade will submit additional budget proposals," said Budi.