Ganjar Pranowo Initiates Tanjung Emas As A Horticultural Port

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo/PHOTO VIA ANTARA

SEMARANG - Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo initiated Tanjung Emas Port, Semarang City, to become a horticultural port to increase the export value of agricultural commodities.

"I've been writing a letter for a while, how come it didn't go down, coincidentally I met the Minister (Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo), I asked that the Semarang port be made a horticultural port. Just waiting for the signature from the minister, that's our hope Later, our agricultural products can be exported from here," said Ganjar in Semarang, quoted by Antara, Saturday, August 14.

Ganjar hopes to expand or widen the Tanjung Emas Port in Semarang. so that the optimization of this port can be higher, including in an effort to support the industrial area in Kendal Regency.

"When the industry is running in Kendal, the closest one is here because we are also negotiating the port there, if it can't happen (in Kendal) then here it must be done immediately. I have checked with the manager, the customer, including Pelindo also, there are no thugs who ask for tips, apparently, there are none because it is controlled by the system. So there is no more, the term friends, there is no friendship between people, "he explained.

This was conveyed by Ganjar after attending the export release event for Central Java Province agricultural commodities at the Tanjung Emas Port Container Terminal, Semarang.

In the online event which was also attended by President Joko Widodo and Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo, Central Java Province released agricultural commodity exports worth IDR 400 billion to 36 countries.

These commodities consist of the plantation sector such as nutmeg, coffee beans, palm oil, brown sugar, and sheet rubber. From the food crop sector, there are edamame, porang, green beans, and corn flour.

Meanwhile, commodities from the horticultural sector include fern and ruskus leaves, okra, dried taro leaves, bonsai, jasmine flowers, cardamom, turmeric, and grass jelly leaves.

"We can send fern leaves, jasmine flowers are all beautiful and can be sold too. Turns out we also have nutmeg, and coffee. Swallow's nest is also stable in this condition. The exporter said he had been doing this for five years. Then wood, edamame, and of course porang which is currently very good," said Ganjar.

The high export of the horticulture, plantation, and food crop sectors, Ganjar continued, proves that in this pandemic the economic condition is still growing even though the absorption of labor is still not optimal.

According to Ganjar, this can be seen from the Merdeka Export program from the central government for a week with a value of Rp7 trillion, meaning that the average value of Indonesia's exports is Rp1 trillion a day.

"Central Java's export commodities were also high in that period. If this (Tanjung Emas Port, Semarang, ed) becomes a port with horticultural functions and facilities are provided, hopefully, our exports of agricultural commodities will be much more," he said.