Ministry of Industry Seeks to Strengthen IKM's Role in Downstreaming Tropical Fruits
The development of the fruit processing industry will provide broader benefits, both for farmers and industry players.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) is striving to strengthen the role of small and medium-sized industries (IKM) in the national industrial downstreaming programme, particularly in the sector of processing Indonesia’s distinctive tropical fruits.
This step is taken to increase the added value of domestic commodities while strengthening the competitiveness of national processed food products in export markets.
Industry Minister (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, in a statement in Jakarta on Monday, conveyed that Indonesia possesses a wealth of tropical fruit commodities with great potential to be developed into various modern processed food products that are highly competitive in the global market.
“Indonesia has many types of distinctive tropical fruits that have high selling value in domestic and international markets. It is now time for more industry players, especially IKM in various fruit production centres, to take a role in processing flagship fruits into more diverse, value-added food products that are favoured by the market,” said the Minister.
According to Agus, Indonesia is one of the world’s largest producers of tropical fruits. Various flagship commodities such as bananas, durians, oranges, mangoes, pineapples, and mangosteens are considered to have great potential to be developed into processed products that can increase economic value while expanding the national export market.
“It is high time we do not only export fresh fruits, but also enjoy the added value from Indonesia’s distinctive tropical fruit processed products. The development of the fruit processing industry will provide broader benefits, both for farmers and food processing industry players,” said Minister Agus.
He added that strengthening the downstreaming of the tropical fruit industry also aligns with the government’s efforts to bolster national food security, expand employment, and increase the manufacturing sector’s contribution to the national economy.
Based on the 2024 Horticulture Statistics Book published by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), national banana production in 2024 reached 9.26 million tonnes.
Provinces with the largest production include East Java, Lampung, and West Java. Indonesia’s fresh banana export value in 2024 was recorded at 10.52 million US dollars, an increase of 10.1 per cent from the previous year at 9.5 million US dollars.
Banana export volume also increased from 24.8 thousand tonnes in 2023 to 26.24 thousand tonnes in 2024, with main export destinations including Malaysia, Japan, and Singapore.
Meanwhile, national mango production reached 3.3 million tonnes in 2024, with the export value of fresh and processed mangoes at 1.75 million US dollars, and the main export destinations for Indonesian mango products being Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Malaysia.
National pineapple production reached 2.74 million tonnes, with the export value of fresh and processed pineapples at 316.1 million US dollars. Indonesian pineapple products are mostly exported to the United States, China, and the Netherlands.
Furthermore, to enhance the role of food IKM in the industrial downstreaming programme, Kemenperin through the Directorate General of Small, Medium, and Various Industries (Ditjen IKMA) continues to implement various mentoring and assistance programmes for IKM players in tropical fruit-based processed foods.
Director General of IKMA at Kemenperin, Reni Yanita, stated that the fruit processing industry has very promising prospects in line with increasing public awareness of healthy food consumption and the development of natural food-based product trends.
Reni explained that food IKM has so far made a significant contribution to the national industrial structure. Of the total 4,445,070 industrial business units in Indonesia, 4,435,542 units are IKM, and around 46.63 per cent of them operate in the food sector.