Ministry of Agriculture Clarifies Chinese Chicken Farming Investment Plan
The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) together with Kadin Indonesia clarified reports of a planned investment by a Chinese company worth Rp 1.4 trillion in the national layer chicken farming sector on Tuesday (12/5/2026). The cooperation is focused on strengthening the upstream chain in Aceh without threatening the position of domestic smallholder farmers.
According to Detik Finance, the planned investment value includes the construction of feed factories, egg processing facilities, and breeding farms. A meeting between government parties and associations was held to ensure that the entry of foreign capital does not disrupt the existing local business ecosystem.
The Director General of Livestock and Animal Health (PKH) of Kementan, Agung Suganda, stated that he had summoned representatives from Kadin to directly explore the information. This step was taken to maintain the health and small business-friendly stability of the national poultry industry.
“Then, in today’s meeting, it also included clarifying the news regarding the plan for a Chinese investor to invest in layer chicken farming. It was also explained earlier by Mr Cecep from the Kadin representative,” said Agung, Director General of PKH Kementan.
The government emphasised that every foreign investment in the livestock subsector must be measured and involve cooperatives and smallholder farmers. This aims to keep the industry structure solid from upstream to downstream and provide positive impacts for job creation.
“We want this industry to grow healthily. Therefore, the government encourages a partnership model that involves local actors, smallholder farmers, and SOEs as part of strengthening the national supply chain,” said Agung, Director General of PKH Kementan.
The Deputy Chairman of Kadin for Livestock, Cecep M. Wahyudin, mentioned that the development of information related to this investment is actually still in a very early stage. Kadin positions itself as a facilitator for foreign delegations showing interest in business potential in Indonesia.
“We need to explain that it is the early stage of a plan or intention from investors and a delegation from China who are interested in entering Indonesia to develop chicken farming in Indonesia. So it’s still in the socialisation stage,” said Cecep, Deputy Chairman of Kadin for Livestock.
Cecep added that his side fully understands the current domestic market demand and supply conditions. Kadin is also continuously working to expand export markets, including exploring opportunities to ship eggs to Singapore, which has so far been dominated by supplies from Malaysia.
“Then, Kadin along with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Cooperatives continues to push efforts on how to accelerate and expand smallholder farmers, so between the news and reality, this is very far from reality,” explained Cecep, Deputy Chairman of Kadin for Livestock.
This cooperation plan previously stemmed from a visit by The China Egg Industry Chain Business Delegation on 21 April 2026 to Aceh Province. The main focus of that audience was the transfer of modern farming technology to improve egg production quality horizontally in the Sumatra corridor.
Although targeting the upstream sector, the Chinese company is assured not to become a vertical integrator due to regulations prohibiting monopolistic practices. Currently, the national protein strengthening programme is also being developed through cooperation between Kadin, the Ministry of Cooperatives, and HKTI.
“Kadin hopes this initiative can be replicated in various regions, so that food sovereignty is formed in each area to strengthen national food security,” said Cecep, Deputy Chairman of Kadin for Livestock.