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Attend The Food Coordination Meeting, Minister Busan: Food Self-Sufficiency Can Save USD 5.2 Billion In Foreign Exchange

Trade Minister Budi Santoso, also known as Mendag Busan, stated that achieving food self-sufficiency could save up to USD 5.2 billion in foreign exchange. He estimated that this savings could be realized if self-sufficiency is achieved for four commodities: rice, sugar, salt, and corn. To support this, Mendag Busan mentioned that the Ministry of Trade is backing efforts for food self-sufficiency, especially for these four items.

He made this announcement during a Food Coordination Meeting led by Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan today, Tuesday, January 7, in Surabaya, East Java.

“If we achieve self-sufficiency for these four commodities, we can save around USD 5.2 billion. This savings can be used for other needs, such as providing fertilizers for agriculture or supporting fisheries,” said Mendag Busan.

He added that in the last five years (2020–2024), Indonesia has imported significant amounts of rice, sugar, salt, and corn. However, during this period, the trend for sugar and salt imports has been declining.

The coordination meeting in Surabaya discussed the collaboration between the central government and the East Java Provincial Government in preparing for the food self-sufficiency target set for 2027 by President Prabowo Subianto. The meeting also served as a dialogue platform between the central government and local leaders in East Java to ensure the success of food self-sufficiency by leveraging the agricultural strengths of the region.

During the meeting, Mendag Busan highlighted several food products that have shown success in self-sufficiency with surpluses aimed at export. For instance, crude palm oil (CPO) has a national export market share of 11.2 percent. In East Java, CPO ranks as the top food export product, followed by fish and processed fish, sugar, milk, shallots, soybeans, corn, and chicken meat.

In East Java, there is already a surplus in several commodities, such as CPO, processed fish, and others. This means that many commodities have achieved food self-sufficiency. Therefore, if other commodities can also reach self-sufficiency, I believe we can make it happen, said Minister Busan.

Additionally, to support the storage of essential goods, the Ministry of Trade is preparing warehouses under the Warehouse Receipt System (SRS) for agricultural commodity storage. There are six active SRS warehouses, 17 flats, and one idle SRS silo in East Java. The total capacity of the idle SRS warehouses in the region is 25,900 tons.

Stable Prices for Essential Goods

Regarding essential goods, Minister Busan noted that prices in East Java are relatively stable. There has been an increase in the price of curly red chili, which is now at Rp48,100/kg. However, this price is still lower than the national price of Rp51,000/kg and the reference price of Rp55,000/kg.

"Prices in East Java are indeed relatively stable and good. Some commodities have seen slight price increases. Nevertheless, they remain below the highest retail price (HET) and the reference price. So, even with the increase, they are still below the HET and reference price," Minister Busan stated.

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Tag: Budi Santoso Zulkifli Hasan