Ogah Kelapa Exported Mentah, Jokowi Asks To Be Processed Into Added Valuable Goods

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) emphasized that downstreaming will be expanded to the plantation and marine sectors. Jokowi said, Indonesia needs to process the growth results into finished goods, so that they are no longer exported in the form of raw goods.

For example, Jokowi said Indonesia is the largest coconut producing country in the world. He said, rather than being exported in the form of crude, it is better to process it into an added value product such as nata de coco.

"Farmers have 4.1 million families (head of families) who become coconut farmers. We produce 16.8 million tons. If this is made there is downstream, for example, nata de coco can be 3.6 times the added value," he said at the Apindo DPN management inauguration event 2023-2028, in Jakarta, Monday, July 31.

Not only food products, according to Jokowi, Indonesian plantation coconuts can also be processed into Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) or oil obtained from fresh coconut meat without heating up.

"The scarcity can be 6 times, the charcoal shell can be worked on 4.5 times and the VCO can be 11 times," he said.

Therefore, Jokowi asked Indonesian entrepreneurs who are members of the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) to carry out downstreaming.

Not only that, Jokowi also asked banks to facilitate access to financing for entrepreneurs who want to downstream.

"Apindo must start thinking about going there for all products that are still sent raw. Banks must think about costing downstream," he said.

Not only coconut, said Jokowi, but marine products such as seaweed are also abundant in Indonesia. Even Indonesia is the second country in the world to produce seaweed.

Sea grass be careful. We are the number 2 largest producers in the world and we must be number 1 is also not difficult. Seaweed is very easy, developing seaweed, planting seaweed, it's very easy," he said.

Jokowi said, sea clump farmers only had 63,000 family cards (KK). Meanwhile, production per year reaches 10.2 million tons. But unfortunately, it is still exported in raw form.

"Go to the Philippines at most. Try to make flour so you can add 3.8 times. Processed drinks 3 times and the last time I saw yesterday at Hannover Messe seaweed can become green energy," he said.