Single-Door Export and Commodity Shares: Opportunities Exist, Execution is Decisive
The single-door export policy for strategic natural resource commodities has become one of the most widely discussed economic issues recently. The government believes this step can strengthen state revenue, increase foreign exchange reserves, and improve the transparency of commodity trade. However, behind these objectives, the market is still awaiting proof regarding the quality of its implementation.
Efforts to Close Economic Leakages
As a country rich in natural resources, Indonesia has faced challenges in ensuring that such wealth provides optimal economic benefits. One issue of concern to the government is the practice of transfer pricing and under-invercing in international trade. Transfer pricing involves transactions between affiliated companies and is fundamentally a legal practice. However, problems arise when transaction prices do not reflect fair market prices, allowing part of the profits to be recorded in other jurisdictions, thereby reducing domestic tax revenue.
Meanwhile, under-invoicing is conducted by reporting export values lower than their actual value. This practice has the potential to reduce tax revenue, royalties, and foreign exchange, while causing trade data to fail to fully reflect actual conditions. In his speech presenting the 2027 State Budget Draft to the House of Representatives, President Prabowo mentioned that the cumulative value of economic leakage due to under-invoicing of Indonesian exports during the 1991-2024 period is estimated to reach approximately 908 billion US dollars, or equivalent to around Rp 15,400 trillion. The government also highlighted the potential leakage from illegal mining activities, which is said to be very large every year.
Danantara DSI and the Single-Door Export Scheme
As part of the efforts to strengthen supervision, the government has tasked PT Danantara Sumber Daya Indonesia (DSI) to support the export governance of several strategic commodities, including palm oil and its derivatives, coal, and ferroalloys, including ferronickel, which is a high-value nickel downstream product. The transition period will begin on 1 June 2026, before full implementation is planned by 1 January 2027 at the latest. During this period, export activities will still be carried out by companies, but the reporting of export activities and documents will be conducted through DSI as part of a more integrated supervision system. Through this mechanism, the government aims to obtain more accurate data regarding the price, volume, and transaction routes of exports so that trade transparency can be increased.