President Prabowo Aims For Indonesian Cooperatives To Establish CPO Factories And Develop Smelters Similar To Those Abroad, With Regulations To Be Issued Shortly

Dok. Kemenkop

President Prabowo Aims For Indonesian Cooperatives To Establish CPO Factories And Develop Smelters Similar To Those Abroad, With Regulations To Be Issued Shortly

Friday, 10 Jan 2025

President Prabowo Subianto envisions a significant transformation for cooperatives in Indonesia, aiming for them to compete with international counterparts. One of his objectives is for domestic cooperatives to establish smelters, construct crude palm oil (CPO) factories, and develop dairy processing facilities. This was articulated by the Deputy Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Ferry Juliantono, during the Indonesia Development Conference 2025 organized by the Confederation of All Indonesian Trade Unions in Jakarta on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. "President Prabowo desires that Indonesian cooperatives transcend mere small business operations and acquire capabilities akin to those of foreign cooperatives, including the establishment of large-scale factories," Ferry stated.

New regulations are set to be issued.

To support this vision, the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs plans to revise Ministerial Regulation Number 4 of 2020. The new regulation will grant greater flexibility to the Cooperative and SME Fund Management Institution (LPDB-KUMKM) in its investment activities. Ferry noted that the revision will permit cooperatives to engage in corporate actions, including the acquisition of substantial assets such as smelters, advanced vessels, and plantations. "This aligns with the President's vision to empower cooperatives to possess strategic assets," he remarked.

Additionally, President Prabowo has allocated an additional budget of IDR 10 trillion for LPDB-KUMKM. This funding is expected to strengthen cooperatives as they enter the real sector and industry. Ferry emphasized that the Ministry of Cooperatives is actively promoting the transformation of cooperatives to play a more significant role in the national economy. He asserted that this initiative aims to position cooperatives as drivers of community economic activity. "With the new flexibility from the Ministerial Regulation, cooperatives are anticipated to compete effectively in the industrial sector, including the establishment of CPO and dairy processing plants, as envisioned by the President," Ferry concluded.