“SOEs are starting to actively draw investments to secure main food ingredient supplies," he noted in a statement issued on Wednesday.
"An example of this is drawing in investments related to stunting reduction programs in Indonesia, such as investments in the cow industry, both meat processing industry and milk production," he added.
In particular, the development of the milk industry has become crucial considering that 80 percent of the national milk consumption is met through imported products.
A concrete step that Thohir has carried out to address this has been holding a discussion with a Dutch milk company, Frisian Flag.
He informed that, during his visit to the Netherlands, the company had said that it was seeking to invest in eight thousand to twelve thousand cows. This should be encouraged in order to achieve food sovereignty.
One of the current duties of SOEs is to realize this so that the national food industry can become stronger.
Earlier, under Thohir’s leadership, food-based SOEs continued to improve in terms of the food industrialization effort.
The effort included the formation of a Food SOEs Holding, which comprises PT RNI (Persero), PT Perusahaan Perdagangan Indonesia, PT Sang Hyang Seri, PT Perikanan Indonesia, PT Berdikari, and PT Garam, on January 7, 2022.
At the time, Thohir stressed that the SOEs Holding was formed to create added value, boost efficiency, strengthen supply chains, and promote business model innovation.
The existence of the Food SOEs Holding was a priority in the food industry transformation given that Indonesia is still an agrarian country.
Thohir also touched upon plantation SOEs. One of his strategic moves concerning them has involved developing two main products, namely palm oil and sugar.
To develop palm oil products, Thohir is encouraging the establishment of at least one red oil processing factory for every one thousand hectares of palm oil land.
Red oil itself is a substitute for cooking oil, whose supply is often in deficit.
The SOEs minister has included the formation of Palm Co in his main work plan for 2023.
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Translator: Aji Cakti, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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