High demand for foods and beverages during the 2019 general election momentum is expected to boost the agro processing industry, the ministry`s acting director general of agro processing industry, Achmad Sigit Dwiwahjono, said in a press statement received on Sunday.
"In this political year, several sectors including food and beverage manufacturers will have great opportunities," he said.
In the third quarter of last year, the agro processing industry grew 7.23 percent per annum.
"We are optimistic that the growth of the agro processing industry in 2019 will be higher than the target of 7.10 percent," he added.
The agro processing industry is currently a key sector to boost the performance of non-oil/non-gas commodity processing industry which also contributes to the national economic growth.
"The growth is supported by the growth of sub-sectors such as food and beverage industry, tobacco product industry, wood, bamboo and rattan processing industry, paper industry and furniture industry," he said.
The agro processing industry contributed up to 49.11 percent to the total domestic product (GDP) in the non-oil/non-gas sector in the first half of 2018.
During the same period, exports from the agro processing industry contributed US$23.26 billion or 26.43 percent to the overall national exports.
"This means that our agro products have been able to compete at a global level," he pointed out.
Investment in the agro processing industry has also pushed the growth of the manufacturing sector in Indonesia.
In the first semester of 2018, domestic investment in the agro processing industry stood at Rp24.32 trillion, while foreign investment hit a record high of US$1.1 billion.
Reporting by Sella Panduarsa Gareta
Editing by Suharto/Rahmad Nasution
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Gusti Nur Cahya Aryani
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
