Downstreaming in the mining sector is one of the ways to increase the added value of commodities, he added. He hopes that in 2024 the value addition will not be restricted to the mining sector.
"The government's downstreaming policy is the right decision. This will increase the added value itself," he said at the "Gambir Trade Talk #12" discussion here on Thursday.
In the World Economic Outlook (WEO) report of October 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that global economic growth will slow from 3.5 percent in 2022 to 3.0 percent in 2023 and dip further to 2.9 percent in 2024.
Sumedi noted that Indonesia still has the opportunity to continue to rise because it has managed to chart economic growth of 5 percent for seven consecutive quarters.
"From January to October, we had quite a good performance. There was a decline in terms of value because world prices were also falling, especially the prices of commodities that are still the basis of our exports, such as CPO (crude palm oil), coal, and other mining goods," he said.
Chairperson of the International Trade Agreement Committee, Mufti Hamka, underlined that it is essential for Indonesia to explore added value from its flagship commodities, including seaweed.
Indonesia needs to follow in the footsteps of neighboring countries such as the Philippines, which has succeeded in downstreaming various commodities, he said.
He added that Indonesia needs to carry out industrial sector reforms. In addition to inviting investors to invest, it needs to develop other leading sectors that can generate added value.
It has also been deemed necessary for entrepreneurs to be astute in tracking developments made by Asian countries so that they can compete with domestic products that are not inferior in terms of quality.
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Translator: Maria Cicilia, Raka Adji
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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