PTPN Reveals Plans to Build Coconut Downstreaming Facility on Seram Island

The government is seriously committed to developing coconut downstreaming as a flagship commodity for Indonesia to gain added value from this tropical fruit.

The President Director of PT Perkebunan Nusantara I (PTPN I), Teddy Yunirman Danas, revealed that the potential of coconuts is enormous, but previously the absence of downstreaming meant Indonesia did not obtain added value.

In the past, coconuts from communities were collected by traders and then exported abroad at low prices. They were then processed overseas and returned to Indonesia as finished products that could cost up to ten times more.

“Coconuts are collected by gatherers and then sold abroad, mostly to China. In China, they are processed into downstream products such as food, beverages, and coconut milk with high value. We sell the fruit for Rp5,000 to Rp7,000, but it comes back here for over Rp30,000 to Rp50,000. We don’t get the added value,” said Teddy when met by media at Menara Patra Jasa, Jakarta, on Thursday (23/4/2026).

Therefore, Teddy is building an integrated coconut downstreaming factory on Seram Island, Maluku, to produce downstream coconut products.

“We are building an integrated coconut factory that can produce coconut powder, coconut milk, and coconut water that can be used to make nata de coco. Insha Allah, it will be built on Seram Island,” he said.

Indonesia’s coconut commodity potential is also attracting foreign investors. The Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Head of BKPM, Rosan Roeslani, stated that foreign investment for coconut commodities reaches US$100 million or approximately Rp1.7 trillion, with the factory said to be completed in Morowali in 2026.

“Insha Allah, by mid-2026, the factory will be completed in the Morowali area, and it will absorb 500 million coconuts every year,” said Rosan during a Working Meeting with Commission XII of the DPR RI, Jakarta, quoted on Thursday (23/4/2026).

Teddy himself views the foreign coconut factory investment coming to Indonesia positively. He emphasised that the foreign coconut factory is not a competitor because the planting land for coconuts remains domestically owned.

“If it’s FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), they build the factory but don’t have plantations. We have the land capital to plant coconuts,” he said.

Teddy also does not rule out the possibility of collaborating with foreign companies for coconut commodity downstreaming. “It’s possible,” he said when asked by reporters about the collaboration opportunities. “But we will prioritise the absorption of products from the community first,” he stressed.