Limited State Budget: Purbaya Supports Phased Implementation of Quarantine Agency Programmes
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa received the Head of the Indonesian Quarantine Agency, Abdul Kadir Kading, and his leadership team at the Ministry of Finance office on Friday (24/7/2026).
The meeting addressed strengthening synergy between the Ministry of Finance and the Indonesian Quarantine Agency (Barantin) in supporting national biosecurity, improving the quality of export-import services, and reinforcing public service governance through systems integration and effective budget management.
On that occasion, Abdul outlined various priority programmes under development, including strengthening the national biosecurity system, accelerating the integration of quarantine services with the Directorate General of Customs and Excise through the National Logistics Ecosystem (NLE), optimising non-tax state revenues (PNBP), and bolstering facilities, laboratories, and the digitalisation of quarantine services.
In response, Purbaya affirmed that the government supports strengthening Barantin’s capacity, given its strategic role in safeguarding national biological security and supporting smooth trade. Any programme strengthening, he said, must be carried out in stages, taking into account the government’s fiscal space and development priorities.
“Our budget is currently in deficit, so we must be truly careful when adding new spending. I think quarantine is indeed important, but its implementation needs to be carried out gradually according to priorities,” said Purbaya.
Purbaya considered that strengthening oversight of goods traffic entering and leaving the country should be an initial priority in reinforcing the national biosecurity system. According to him, this approach would deliver greater benefits in preventing the entry of pests and diseases that could disrupt the agricultural, livestock and fisheries sectors, as well as national food security.
To support effective oversight, Purbaya also encouraged the integrated use of scanning infrastructure between the Directorate General of Customs and Excise and Barantin. This synergy is expected to improve oversight quality while promoting efficiency in government investment.
“We want government investment to be made appropriately so that the facilities built can be used jointly by relevant agencies. That way, oversight becomes more effective while also encouraging efficient budget use,” he said.
As a follow-up, Purbaya directed the Indonesian Quarantine Agency, the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, and the National Single Window Agency (LNSW) to strengthen technical coordination to ensure system readiness, operational procedures, and data exchange mechanisms before full service integration is implemented.
This step is expected to support faster, more effective, and integrated services for the public and business actors.
Through closer inter-agency synergy, the government is committed to strengthening the national biosecurity system while maintaining the smooth flow of trade and logistics. This reinforcement is expected to improve the quality of public services, support a conducive business climate, and strengthen national economic resilience through prudent and sustainable fiscal management.