The Indonesian government plans to accelerate downstream processing in the plantation sector, with a key focus on coconut products. Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman stated that Indonesia has been exporting up to 2.8 million tons of raw coconuts, valued at approximately Rp24 trillion.

Going forward, the government intends to halt the export of raw coconuts and instead promote their processing into higher-value export goods, such as coconut milk, which offers significantly greater economic returns.

“Our plan for coconut downstreaming is to stop selling raw coconuts abroad. The total current export volume reaches 2.8 million tons,” said Amran at the Presidential Office, Central Jakarta, on Thursday (October 9, 2025).

According to his estimates, if coconuts are processed into derivative products such as coconut milk, their economic value could increase by up to 100 times. This transformation could generate potential national income of around Rp2,400 trillion.

“Based on our calculations, the total potential value could reach Rp2,400 trillion. Even if we only take half of that—say 50%—Indonesia could still gain about Rp1,200 trillion in foreign exchange. And that’s just from coconuts,” Amran emphasized.

Beyond coconuts, the government’s downstream strategy also targets other plantation commodities, including cocoa, coffee, cashew nuts, and nutmeg. This initiative is expected to create up to 1.6 million new jobs within the next two years.

“We will distribute seeds and seedlings to farmers across Indonesia free of charge for cocoa, coffee, coconuts, cashew nuts, and nutmeg, covering approximately 800,000 hectares nationwide. This program is projected to generate around 1.6 million new jobs within a maximum of two years,” explained Amran.