HIPKI Asks Government to Immediately Arrange Coconut Export Trade

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta, Minister of Industry, Airlangga Hartarto today received a visit from the Chairman of the Indonesian Coconut Processing Industry Association (HIPKI) at the Office of the Ministry of Industry, Jakarta (14/8/2017).

HIPKI General Secretary, Donatus Gede Sabon said, during the meeting we reported to Minister about the proposed process of discussing the export trade of coconut. This problem has been experienced since 2011, because there is a shortage of industrial raw materials.

"Last year we have been facing the previous Minister to report because there is a problem of scarcity of raw materials and we request that the government can help with certain policies, we propose that there is a trade regulation for the export of raw materials that are practically uncontrolled," said Donatus Met the Minister of Industry at the Ministry of Industry.

He added that so far we do not have the instrument to regulate the export trading system that has been going on freely, while the domestic industry precisely the difficulty of raw materials.

According to him, since last year was proposed, the process of discussion has crossed the ministry. Therefore we re-report this cross-ministry discussion including the last one with the economics ministry initiating a meeting with the farmers' association.

"We agreed last week that we need to push this trade regulation with a guarantee at the farm level that there needs to be minimum price enforcement so that farmers are not harmed if the trade regulation is implemented because there is a minimum price standard applied for farmers' Donatus.

Meanwhile, concerns that the possibility of a fall in prices if the government decides trade regulation, it is already agreed that the industry buys with a benchmark price that we agreed with the benchmark branchmark cruid coconat oil price in Rotterdam, because the price is valid in international. "Therefore, we try to formulate together with approximately branchmark is the lowest benchmark price that can be compromised by the farmers at what level, we already have a common ground with the farmers, that's what we report to the minister," he added.

It is worth noting that the coconut demand for the entire industry is currently around 20-21 billion grains for all industries, whether processing oil from copra raw materials or processing fresh coconuts for products such as coconut milk, coconut flour and coconut water.

While our national production because of the condition of the plant is very old and almost no rejuvenation for the last 30 years, then its productivity is decreasing. At the same time, since 2011, we have to export coconut fruits to supply coconut processing industries in countries like China, Thailand, Malaysia and even some countries in the Middle East. "From time to time the tendency is even increasing and affecting the industry, because itulitas installed capacity in Indonesia it decreased quite far in the range of 35-50%," he said

Furthermore, Donatus revealed, until now the situation is still ongoing, so we ask the Minister to then at least we start thinking faster looking for a way out together how to save the industry nationally but again there must be a consensus on the matter of refuting the possibility of the fall Price at the farm level, this is a very serious conversation.

Donatus continued, at the same time in the last 7-5 years export volume has increased rapidly. This issue threatens the industry's sustainability for its material certainty. We ask the government for help, we intervene to regulate this trade arrangement. We have an obligation as Ministry of Industry requested to immediately complete the distribution of its industry as and wherever and how to cluster about groups of farmers who can have direct access to the factory to sell its raw materials.

"For the short term there should be a buffer both from the side of the export regulation and the price buffer at the farmer level so at least the raw materials are maintained and the price for the farmers is not free fall, this is the joint consent," he concluded.