Speaking at the Green Impact Festival 2025 in Jakarta, he expressed the government's ambition to downstream frankincense into higher-value products, especially perfume.
“Does anyone here use perfume? That product is made from frankincense. In other words, frankincense is not just associated with shamans. It puzzles me to see people stirring up debates after I highlighted frankincense, and even artificial intelligence,” Gibran said.
His remarks came in response to mockery he received following a speech at the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) last week, where he discussed the downstreaming of frankincense. Some detractors ridiculed the reference due to the resin’s association with traditional rituals in Indonesia.
“The other day, people laughed at me after I talked about downstreaming frankincense. They said, ‘Frankincense is for shamans.’ Wrong! Frankincense is as valuable as nickel,” Gibran stated during the Lemhannas event on July 15.
He first highlighted the commodity’s potential after visiting the Herbal and Horticultural Science and Technology Park in Humbang Hasundutan district, North Sumatra, on May 16.
“I believe this is truly remarkable. We usually talk about the downstreaming of nickel and minerals, but here, we see the downstreaming of frankincense,” Gibran observed.
Earlier, on May 26, chairperson of the National Economic Council (DEN), Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, said that downstreaming frankincense could help boost the welfare of farmers in North Sumatra.
“Downstreaming is not merely about creating added value for natural resources — it is also about ensuring that our resources bring economic benefits to the villages where they come from,” he explained.
He noted that frankincense from North Sumatra is among the world’s best and has been exported to several countries in Asia and Europe.
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Translator: Mentari D, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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