Jakarta (VNA) – Head of Indonesia’s National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi said on January 10 that the country plans to export corn to Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia in 2023.
According to Arief, Indonesia expects to export 200,000 tonnes of corn to the Southeast Asian markets in the first quarter of this year.
Bapanas met and discussed the export scheme with representatives from relevant agencies of the target importers, Arief said, adding that there remain several hurdles to implementing the scheme, for example, the technology used to move corn from one ship to the other. To develop such technology, the government allocated 2 trillion Rupiah (130 million USD) of investment funds but it has yet to be completed.
Previously, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said that President Joko Widodo asked for an increase of corn productivity by opening new farms and planting quality seeds.
According to Airlangga, the President’s instruction was made based on the consideration of the potential of corn plants. Last year, Indonesia’s corn production reached 34.4 million tonnes.
The government also planned to carry out measures to increase efficiency of corn supply line activities, starting from harvest, post-harvest process, storage, and transportation and distribution through further implementation of agricultural innovation and technology./.
