The importance of downstreaming plantations in boosting export value has been highlighted by the Director of Forest and Plantation Industry at the Directorate General of Agro Industry of the Ministry of Industry. The Ministry of Industry is a staunch supporter of the downstreaming of plantation commodities. The agro industry sector contributes approximately 50.20% to the non-oil and gas industrial GDP. In 2022, the total exports of the plantation industry sector reached USD 36.55 billion, or approximately IDR 568.9 trillion. Mainstream plantation commodities in Indonesia include coconuts, palm oil, cocoa, coffee, tea, and essential oils. Palm oil and its derivatives are the leading export products of Indonesia, accounting for nearly 81.4% of the total exports from the plantation industry. This is due to Indonesia being the largest producer of palm oil. Palm oil has become a model for the downstreaming industry, capable of driving the export of value-added products from domestic processing activities.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of Plantations hopes that with the plantation expo, there will be a space for interaction, collaboration, and innovation among all plantation stakeholders in Indonesia. This aims to achieve alignment in innovative, competitive, dynamic, and continuously evolving entrepreneurial activities in the plantation subsector. Consequently, Indonesia will be better equipped to face various national and global challenges and collaborate to strengthen Indonesian plantations, ultimately improving the welfare of Indonesian plantation workers.
