Day: August 14, 2022

The 3rd G20 Development Working Group (DWG) Meeting ended in Bali on Friday, with delegates stressing the significance of multilateralism and development funding.

DWG is a forum for G20 member states to gather, prioritize multilateralism, share solutions to push growth, remap development plans, and achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs), Minister of National Development Planning and head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Suharso Monoarfa, said in a written statement here on Saturday.

“G20 has the knowledge, expertise, and financial resources to reverse (the current condition), which is off track. Let us make every effort to alter the direction and build solid advancement,” he remarked.

The outcome of the 3rd DWG has also been finalized along with a shortened discussion held on key documents including, the G20 Road Map for Stronger Recovery and Resilience in Developing Countries, Least Developed Countries, and Small Island Developing States.

The documents also included the G20 Principles to Scale-Up Blended Finance in Developing Countries, the G20 Ministerial Vision Statement: Multilateralism for SDGs Decade of Action, and the 2022 G20 Bali Update.

Four documents and agreements conceived in the series of DWG meetings this year will lay the foundation for the discussion on development cooperation at the G20 Development Ministerial Meeting, which will be held in Belitung from September 7 to 9, 2022, Monoarfa said.

The DWG Meeting has been held thrice this year: the 1st DWG Meeting was held in Jakarta on February 24 and 25, the 2nd meeting was held in Yogyakarta on May 24 and 25, and the 3rd meeting was held in Bali on August 10 and 12.

The DWG discussed the G20’s strategy for mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic, promoting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), achieving SDGs, developing global health infrastructures, ensuring digital transmission, and moving toward a sustainable energy transition, particularly in developing nations.

Source: Antara News

Police have arrested chief of the Indonesian Coffee Producers and Exporters Association (AEK), Lampung Chapter Juprius on charges of embezzling Rp1.629 billion in proceeds from the sale of a coffee consignment.

“The amount is the total value of 59,507 tons of coffee that the victim consigned to the suspect (for sale),” spokesperson for the Lampung Provincial Police, Commissioner Rosef Efendi, informed here on Saturday.

On April 5, 2017, the victim reportedly sent 59,507 tons of coffee worth Rp1.629 billion to the suspect’s warehouse for sale.

The suspect allegedly promised to pay the proceeds from the sale—minus the administrative fee, unloading cost, and income tax—to the victim one month after completing the sale.

However, after the coffee was sold, the suspect did not forward the proceeds from the coffee sale to the victim, Efendi said.

Source: Antara News

At least 10 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) fostered by the Labuan Bajo Flores Tourism Authority Board (BPOLBF) are participating in the 2022 Exotic Weaving Fest in Kupang city, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province.

The 10 enterprises were chosen from 23 MSMEs fostered by the board, president director of the BPOLBF, Shana Fatina, informed here on Saturday while attending the event, which featured the products of 62 weaving, culinary, coffee, and craft MSMEs from 22 districts and cities in the province.

The selected MSMEs are culinary players since the BPOLBF, in collaboration with the Representative Office of Bank Indonesia in NTT province, has provided them training to make the packaging of MSME-made food products more attractive, she noted.

“It is the first time they have participated in such an activity,” she added.

She said she expects that through the event, the economic condition of MSME players will improve, and they will be able to sell their products nationally and globally.

The Representative Office of Bank Indonesia in NTT province is targeting Rp1.6 billion (US$107.6 thousand) in profits during the 2022 Exotic Weaving Fest, which is being held at Lippo Plaza Kupang, Kupang city, NTT province, from August 12 to 14, 2022.

The event was also held in 2021 when it chalked up a total profit of Rp1.4 billion (US$94.13 thousand).

Earlier, while delivering his remarks at the opening of the event, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno lauded the Representative Office of Bank Indonesia (BI) in NTT province and the local government for taking the initiative to implement the 2022 ETF, which is themed “Weaving Products of NTT Goes to Cities Life.”

The event reflects the enthusiasm to promote NTT woven products among the community as daily lifestyle items, he noted.

He said he expected the festival to be held regularly to enable various multiplier effects for the weaving, tourism, and creative industry players in NTT province.

Source: Antara News

Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan said that he is now focusing on the effort to stabilize the prices of eggs and flour while also seeking the causes behind the rise of their prices.

“We hope that the price of flour will decline in September,” he remarked while monitoring the prices of basic goods in Dukuh Kupang Surabaya Market, East Java, on Sunday.

According to the price monitoring from East Java’s Basic Material Price Availability and Development Information System (Siskaperbapo), the price of flour currently reaches Rp11 thousand to Rp12 thousand.

Earlier, the price of the flour in the market stood at Rp9,000 to Rp10,500.

In addition to flour, the current price of chicken eggs also reaches Rp27 thousand to Rp30 thousand, which is a hike from the normal price of around Rp20 thousand.

The minister, who monitors various traditional markets, also informed that only the price of chicken eggs that remains high.

“I am still checking the rise of chicken egg price and strive to stabilize it,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, he informed that the the prices of other basic goods have been stable.

For instance, the price of beef, when he became minister in mid-June, was Rp155 thousand per kg.

“Now, the price has returned to normal with Rp120 thousand per kg,” he noted.

Similar occurrence happened with chicken meat. It was previously sold at Rp52 thousand per kg but the price has now returned to normal with Rp31 thousand.

In addition, the price of red onion which had ever touched Rp80 thousand per kg has now declined to Rp28 thousand.

After bring appointed as the trade minister in mid-June, Hasan had visited and monitored the prices condition of basic goods in Surabaya twice, namely in Wonokromo Market and Dukuh Kupang Market.

Source: Antara News

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has ordered his aides to ensure rice stock adequacy to meet national demand until the next two years before they decided to export the commodity.

Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo quoted the president’s order here on Sunday after Jokowi received an award from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for the country’s success in achieving rice self-sufficiency and its food system resilience.

“IRRI said that Indonesia should export (rice), but export high-quality rice. However, the president ordered to first make sure the national stock are available for national needs, then we can think about exporting,” Limpo said.

The minister noted that exports would only be made after the national rice demands could be met, especially with the threat of global food crisis.

The national rice consumption is expected to reach 30.03 million tons per year, according to the Statistics Indonesia (BPS).

According to Limpo, the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), and the National Food Agency must ensure that rice stocks are safe before they decided to export rice.

“We have to have stock for up to two years which we consider it safe,” he said.

President Jokowi in his remarks after receiving the award at the Merdeka Palace on Sunday said that national rice stock until April 2022 has reached 10.2 million tons, revealing that Indonesia has a good food resilience system.

“Our stock (rice) in the field was at its highest level in April 2022 end at 10.2 million tons. When one asks you, where is the rice. It’s in the hand of the community, farmers, restaurants as well as Bulog and several food industries,” Jokowi said.

The President said rice surplus achieved in the midst of global food crisis has become one of the indicators that Indonesia has a good food resilience system that deserves the award from IRRI.

Jokowi has also encouraged farmers to increase rice productivity so that Indonesia could enter the export market.

“We also continue to encourage this so that we do not only produce (rice) for our people consumption only. Later when production increases, we must also start entering export markets,” Jokowi said.

Source: Antara News

Indonesia has received an award from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for its achievement in reaching rice self-sufficiency and for improving its food security system.

Indonesia’s achievement is a major step to create a national food security, especially amid the current global geopolitical condition, IRRI’s Director General Jean Balie noted while bestowing the award at State Palace here Sunday.

IRRI is committed to cooperating n the long term to bolster the food security system in Indonesia.

Balie bestowed the placard to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) as a form of acknowledgement and thanks for Indonesia’s achievement.

Meanwhile, in his remark, Jokowi informed that, since 2015, Indonesia has built many dams, rain water reservoirs, and irrigation networks.

To this day, the government has managed to inaugurate 29 major dams and the number will increase up to 38 dams by the end of 2022. The government aims to inaugurate 61 dams until 2024.

In addition, the government has also constructed 4,500 reservoirs and 1,1 million irrigation networks over the last seven years.

According to Jokowi, all of these efforts have managed to increase production results in addition to utilization of various superior rice varieties, intensification, as well as extensification.

As a result, from 2019 to 2021, Indonesia consistently managed to produced 31.3 million tonnes of rice per year; and within the last three years, Indonesia has no longer imported rice.

This achievement of rice self-sufficiency is what allows Indonesia to bag the award, he remarked.

Jokowi also thanked Indonesian farmers, regional governments, and Agriculture Ministry for their hard works and their researches.

He emphasized that the cooperation has to be encouraged so that Indonesia can produce rice to meet domestic and overseas demands.

Source: Antara News