200 Thousand Tons of Corn Will Be Exported by Indonesia

Indonesia will export 200 thousand tons of corn to Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia this year. Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi explained that Indonesia would export the corn within the first three months.

“In the first three months there were 200 thousand tons,” he said at the Foodbank of Indonesia Office, South Jakarta (10/01/2023).

According to bisnis.tempo.co, Arief said he already met with the ambassadors from export destination countries to discuss this export plan. However, Arief admits that there are still a number of obstacles facing Bapanas. One of them is the provision of transport technology that functions to move corn from one ship to another. To develop this technology, the government requires an investment of IDR 2 trillion.

“By using technology in the form of a trunk. So the trunk will transfer corn from ship to ship. Unlike now, use tarpaulins, use nets,” explained Arief.

Corn Industry Potential

Previously, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) gave directions to increase corn productivity. Government will increased productivity by clearing land in new areas and using superior seeds. This direction was made based on the high potential of the corn commodity. Based on USDA data for 2022, it was recorded that Indonesia’s corn production reached 34.4 million tons.

Airlangga added that the downstream potential for the corn processing industry is very high for processed food production. Examples include corn starch, corn vermicelli, corn grits, corn flour, sweeteners and snacks. He said Indonesia would expand the corn processing industry in a number of regions, as well as adjust the specifications for corn raw materials between domestic production and industrial needs.

Seeing this potential, The government plans to make efficiencies in all lines of activity in the corn supply chain. Starting from the harvesting process, post-harvest handling, storage, to the transportation and distribution processes. This plan will be carried out by applying agricultural innovation and technology, one of which is the use of digital technology in precision agriculture.