Investors from 10 Countries Eye Potential of Cocoa and Coconut Industries in North Kolaka

From the central government, attendees included the Director General of Agroindustry from the Ministry of Industry RI, Putu Juli Ardika, the Director of Promotion for Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific from BKPM RI, Saribua Siahaan, as well as several national experts in investment, industry and trade.

In her presentation, Saribua Siahaan explained that the central government is currently promoting a national economic growth target of up to 8% through strengthening investment and industrial downstreaming.

According to her, the downstreaming sector will become one of the largest contributors to national investment by early 2026, with a contribution of almost 30% from Indonesia’s total investment realisation.

“Regions with superior resources like North Kolaka have a great opportunity to grow faster through downstreaming and strengthening investment,” said Saribua Siahaan.

BKPM data shows that investment realisation in North Kolaka during the 2021–2026 period reached around Rp1.58 trillion, dominated by the basic metals and mining subsector.

Meanwhile, Putu Juli Ardika assessed that North Kolaka’s plantation potential is very strong for development into an export-based processing industry.

He explained that the cocoa plantation area in North Kolaka covers around 78,000 hectares with production exceeding 58,000 tonnes per year. In addition to cocoa, the region also has promising potential in coconut and coffee.

“Industrial transformation must be directed towards increasing added value. Regions producing raw materials like North Kolaka have a great opportunity to enter the processing industry chain and the global export market,” he stated.