President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo asked the next elected president of Indonesia to resume the ongoing downstream industry.
“Even with the pressure from the EU, WTO, and IMF, don’t back down and don’t stop [the downstream industry]. And I instruct the next president to refrain from halting the downstream industry because it will bring us a great loss,” said Jokowi while inaugurating a youth entrepreneurs meeting in Tangerang Regency, Banten, on Thursday, August 31, 2023.
During the meeting, Jokowi called for the continuation of the raw material export ban despite losing against the EU at the WTO panel.
IMF also previously asked the government to consider its decision to annul the nickel report ban policy and refrain from expanding the ban to other commodities.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Development Planning has calculated that by implementing downstream industry, Indonesia’s PCI will reach US$10,500 in 10 years, increasing to US$15,800 in 15 years.
On the other hand, Indonesia will lose over US$25,000 in PCI in by 2045 if the downstream industry is halted. The downstream industry is not limited to mining commodities such as nickel and copper, but also seaweed and palm oil products.
Furthermore, Jokowi mentioned that Indonesia is the world’s biggest seaweed and palm oil exporter. However, the commodities have always been exported in unprocessed forms. Thus, Jokowi asked industries to continue processing the raw materials into fully-processed products.
Downstream industry, he said, strives to open broader employment opportunities in addition to increasing the state’s profits.
“During the 2045 Golden Indonesia, our income per capita will reach at least US$25,000. That is our goal. Not only a big vision, we ought to have a tactical vision,” he concluded.
