Cooperative Minister Compares the Advantages of Village Cooperatives with Modern Retail Chains like Alfamart and Indomaret

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The Minister of Cooperatives, Ferry Juliantono, has highlighted the advantages of Village Cooperatives (Kopdes) compared to modern retail chains. Ferry stated that the key advantage of Kopdes is that all business activities originate from and benefit the village, thereby stimulating the village economy.

“Why should it be a village cooperative? Because the village cooperative is owned by the villagers, so if there are profits from the village cooperative that carries out retail activities, the money will circulate in the village, which is essentially for the benefit of the villagers, not in Jakarta,” said Ferry during a press conference on Thursday (26/2/2026).

Meanwhile, with modern retail, the flow of money does not benefit the villages where the modern retail outlets are located, but rather circulates in major cities, where the headquarters of the modern retail chains are located.

“With modern retail, the money goes to Jakarta, not to the village, and that is what we actually wanted to address,” Ferry added.

However, the presence of modern retail in villages should still be respected, as it has provided a significant number of jobs. However, regarding the issuance of new permits, he said that they should pay more attention to the existing conditions, especially in the villages.

“If modern retail outlets have already been established, then it’s okay, we will still respect that, but regarding the desire for expansion, especially into villages, we must remember that there are other areas that also belong to the rights of the villagers,” he said.

(chd/wur)