Anomaly: Indonesia Has the World's Best Coffee and Chocolate Yet Still Imports Them, Prabowo Baffled

President Prabowo Subianto has voiced his bewilderment over the governance of several strategic commodities, such as coffee and chocolate, which are considered to have the highest quality, yet Indonesia still imports these commodities from abroad.

“We have the best coffee and chocolate, but we import Starbucks, Nestle, Nescafe. We have the best chocolate, but we import KitKat, we eat Cadbury, right?” said President Prabowo during a discussion on downstream processing and industrialisation with several journalists and economists at his private residence in Hambalang, Bogor Regency, West Java, this week, as quoted from the official broadcast of the Indonesian Government Communication Agency confirmed in Jakarta on Thursday (19/3).

Therefore, the President then emphasised that his administration is focusing on implementing downstream processing and industrialisation of strategic commodities.

The President also introduced the concept of the “industrial tree” which will be applied to all important commodities, for example metals, minerals, or coconut, coffee, and chocolate commodities. According to the President, downstream processing is also key to creating quality jobs for Indonesia’s young generation.

“I want downstream processing. That’s the only way. We must not export raw materials anymore. We must process those raw materials into high-value industrial derivative products,” stated President Prabowo at the event titled “President Prabowo Answers”.

The President then gave an example of the government’s plan to downstream coconut commodities. “Coconut is considered a miracle crop. Virgin coconut oil is considered anticancer, but we only have one or two coconut factories. So far, we export raw coconuts,” said the President.

The President also highlighted the downstream processing of strategic minerals, bauxite.

“We have bauxite. Bauxite for alumina is processed into aluminium. Aluminium becomes cars, but we don’t process bauxite. Japan doesn’t have bauxite, but they make the best cars. Right? This is what we have to do,” said Prabowo.

Therefore, Prabowo believes that the industrial tree concept as part of the government’s downstream processing policy needs to be implemented immediately for all strategic commodities.

“We must build hundreds of factories. That’s what we call the industrial tree. We have already mapped it out, we actually have a plan. Industrial tree for all important commodities that we have,” added the President.