At the start of his presidential term four years ago, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to put the agriculture sector at the top of his agenda with the aim of reaching self-sufficiency in producing strategic commodities. A ceremony costing US$50,000 was even held in mid-2005 to promote his administration's seriousness to revitalize the sector, which is the income backbone for more than 70 million people living in rural areas around the country. These efforts, however, proved to be futile.

A favorite topic of mine this one! Unless Indonesia makes some very drastic changes very quickly to the manpower laws they will see a mass reduction in Manufacturing as the MNC head to India, China and Vietman. While it may seem Indonesia has cheap labor .. the costs of employment here can be high given the number of actual working days and expectations of the workforce on company benefits.

Indonesia's top lawmakers are now starting to face the reality of the nation's Production Sharing Contracts system, which have been unable to stop the steady decline in Indonesia's crude production. Putting the archipelago's oil production on the road to recovery remains the key issue among Indonesia's political elite, as evidenced by statements made by Indonesia's Energy Minster, claiming that Increasing Oil Production is Indonesia's top priority.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Boediono said the government may increase the number of soybean importers as part of its short-term measure to curb the upward trend in the price of the commodity. "We will do whatever to keep down the (import) cost," the minister said here on Wednesday. He said the government could not do much to curb the rocketing soybean price because it was out of the government`s control.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government called on importers on Wednesday to release their soybean stocks to the market in order to help stabilize the commodity`s price. Director General for Processing and Marketing of Agricultural Products Djoko Said Damardjati said his office had held talks with the Trade Ministry on how to stabilize the soybean price to the normal level of about Rp4,000 per kg.

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT) will expand its 72-hectare container yard by 12.4 hectares to increase its storage capacity by 57 percent to 55,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), president director Bambang Bhakti said Wednesday.

JAKARTA (JP): President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono refused Wednesday to set a deadline for the issuance of the controversial government regulation on dismissal benefits. "I haven't set a date ... but it will be issued soon," he told a press conference after chairing a cabinet meeting at the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration in South Jakarta. Yudhoyono has been holding off signing the draft since the end of last year. "The draft is in its final stages," he said.