Indonesia will pursue greater production in downstream industries and take over the world market in green products, President Joko Widodo said on Tuesday. Jokowi noted that Indonesia’s commitment to strengthening its downstream industry had proved to be fruitful, as it allowed the country to gradually shift from selling raw materials to value-added goods.
In the case of nickel, for instance, Jokowi said the downstream project had increased Indonesia’s steel export value by 18 times compared with the last seven years, to Rp306 trillion (US$20.7 billion) last year. This year, Jokowi expects the value to rise to Rp440 trillion, a more than 43 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase. The downstream sector has provided an opportunity for the country to become a part of the global supply chain in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, with EV-producer countries from Asia, Europe, and the US showing their interest in taking part in the development.
“The government will push for downstream [production] in bauxite, copper, and tin. We must keep on pushing downstream on our natural resources,” Jokowi said during his State of the Nation speech for the 77th anniversary of the country’s independence.
Downstream projects in Indonesia have been Jokowi’s solution to the country’s sluggish manufacturing contribution to the economy and to reducing its reliance on extractive industries. Jokowi went on to say that the country would not stop pursuing downstream projects, but would also ensure they would be “green” as well, hoping they would be more competitive in the global markets. Jokowi said the government would integrate the downstream projects with renewable energy-based power plants that would utilize solar, wind, geothermal, wave, and bioenergy sources.
“We need to build an integrated ecosystem for the industry in our country that will support the development of a global green economy ecosystem. I believe that we will become a competitive green product manufacturer in international trade,” Jokowi said.
August 16, 2022, The Jakarta Post
(https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2022/08/16/jokowi-ri-must-boost-downstream-investment-take-over-global-green-market.html?)