“We have reached out to the President, and he urged us to protect farmers at all costs,” he told the media after a meeting with Commission VI of the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta on Monday.
He made the statement in response to domestic markets failing to absorb locally produced cassava and tapioca optimally due to a glut in their imports.
To address the issue, Sulaiman said that he held meetings with several top officials, including Coordinating Minister for Food, Zulkifli Hasan, and Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto.
“Our meetings with the coordinating ministers for food and economic affairs resulted in two viable options: import restrictions and tariff imposition,” the minister added.
He informed that while the final decision has not been made, the government is currently more inclined to slap tariffs on cassava and tapioca imports.
“Hopefully, we will soon reach a conclusion, as we have raised this issue repeatedly in various meetings. We, in the government, fully understand the hardship faced by cassava farmers across Indonesia, especially those in Lampung,” he said.
The minister had expressed a similar sentiment earlier in May 2025, while calling for measures to curb the influx of imported cassava and its derivative products, citing concerns over its impact on local farmers’ income, productivity, and competitiveness.
“In order to protect farmers and stabilize prices at the producer level, strategic measures must be taken to control imports. We should consider imposing limited restrictions on the entry of cassava and several of its derivative products,” he said.
Meanwhile, Trade Minister Budi Santoso has hinted at the government’s plan to impose import duties on cassava and tapioca to give a boost to domestic farmers.
“One of the solutions we have in mind is imposing import duties, but no decisions have been made,” he said at his office in Jakarta on Friday (July 4, 2025).
He underlined that the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs is still working to find the best solution.
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Translator: Putu I, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
