RI, Brunei Strengthen Cooperation in Fishery Sector

Denpasar - The Indonesian delegation to an international fisheries conference here held a meeting with its counterpart from Brunei Darussalam on Friday to strengthen the two countries'' cooperation in the field.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the "Regional Ministerial Meeting on Promoting Responsible Fishing Practices in the Region," attended by representatives from 12 countries, namely Australia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Timor Leste, Singapore, Thailand, China, Brunei Darussalam, Japan and Indonesia, Sau P Hutagalung, chief information officer of the fisheries and marine resources ministry, said.
The Indonesian delegation was led by Fisheries and Marine Resources Minster Freddy Numberi while the delegation from Brunei was led by Industry and Primary Resources Minister Dr Haji Ahmad.
On the occasion, Freddy Numberi emphasized the importance of the implementation of "the Bali Plan of Action" agreed upon in Bali in 2005 at the "APEC Ocean Related Ministerial Meeting."
He also emphasized the importance of expanding the two countries'' cooperation by involving the private sectors from both countries to invest in fish catching, processing and marketing.
Numbery also said investment opportunities were wide open in the facility- and industry-related fishery development.
Dr Jahi Ahmad on the occasion appreciated the initiative Indonesia had taken with Australian support to organize the meeting to promote fishery resources especially in areas that border with other countries.
Hutagalung said during the two countries'' meeting the two ministers exchanged information about their fishery policies especially in sea fishing and fishery development.
The two ministers also agreed to increase cooperation in the field of fishery and to provide an umbrella for international cooperation in the sector. (Source: Antara060507)

Indonesia Tingkatkan Produksi Kapas

 

Indonesia akan meningkatkan produksi kapas hingga 70.000 Ton pada 2010

Indonesia berencana meningkatkan produksi kapas hingga 70.000 ton pada tahun 2010 untuk mengurangi ketergantungan pada impor, kata Direktur Jenderal Perkebunan, Achmad Manggabarani, di Jakarta pada Senin.

 

Ia menjelaskan bahwa kebutuhan kapas dalam negeri saat ini mencapai 550.000 ton per tahun, tetapi hanya 5.000 ton yang dapat dipenuhi oleh produksi dalam negeri, sementara sisanya harus diimpor.
"Untuk mencapai target produksi tersebut, kami berencana membuka 50.000 hektare lahan perkebunan kapas hingga tahun 2010 serta meningkatkan produktivitas hingga 1,4 ton per hektare," ujarnya.

 

Saat ini, produktivitas perkebunan kapas di Indonesia hanya mencapai 0,6 ton per hektare karena petani masih menggunakan benih berkualitas rendah. Program pengembangan perkebunan kapas ini akan dilaksanakan di 55 kabupaten yang tersebar di tujuh provinsi, yaitu Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Yogyakarta, Bali, Nusa Tenggara Timur, dan Sulawesi Selatan.

 

Dengan tingkat produksi 70.000 ton per tahun, kontribusi perkebunan kapas nasional terhadap industri tekstil dan produksi tekstil dalam negeri diperkirakan akan mencapai 4,7 persen, meningkat 0,5 persen dari tingkat saat ini.

Pada tahun 2006, pengembangan perkebunan kapas telah mencapai 8.980 hektare dengan produksi 4.191 ton kapas mentah, setara dengan 1.397 ton kapas olahan, yang menyumbang 0,3 persen terhadap industri tekstil dan produksi tekstil.

 

Manggabarani menyebutkan bahwa ada tiga perusahaan yang akan terlibat dalam pengembangan kapas ini, yaitu PT Nusa Farm di Nusa Tenggara Barat, PT Sukun di Jawa Timur, Jawa Tengah, Yogyakarta, dan Bali, serta PT Sebo Fajar di Sulawesi Selatan.

 

Direktur utama PT Ade Agroindustry, Ii' Tjahyadi, menjelaskan bahwa industri tekstil membutuhkan kapas dengan serat panjang dalam jumlah besar. "Benih kapas sebagian besar masih diimpor, dan hasilnya cukup baik," katanya.

 

Ia juga menambahkan bahwa Indonesia sebenarnya memiliki potensi besar untuk pengembangan perkebunan kapas, tetapi masih menghadapi kendala dalam hal irigasi karena sebagian besar perkebunan berada di lahan marginal.

 

Terkait masalah irigasi, Direktur Pengelolaan Air dari Direktorat Pengelolaan Air dan Lahan Kementerian Pertanian, Gatot Irianto, mengatakan bahwa pihaknya akan berupaya memanfaatkan sumber air dangkal dan air permukaan untuk perkebunan kapas.

"Kami akan menggunakan peralatan lokal agar lebih mudah dioperasikan oleh petani setempat," ujarnya.

 

SUMBER:
Antara, 15 Mei 2007

RI to Develop Oil Palm Plantations in Tanzania

Jakarta - The Indonesian government is looking into the possibility of investing in oil palm plantations in Tanzania, Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono said Tuesday.
"In the era of globalization, we can develop plantations not only at home but also abroad,” he said in commenting on the results of his recent visit to the African country.
He said Tanzania now has around 59 million hectares of oil palm plantations and its climate which is not much different from Indonesia's is worth considering to make investment.
Every hectare of oil palm plantation in Tanzania now can produce 6 tons of palm oil, making opportunities to invest in the sector wide open, he said.
He said his office will soon send an expert team to Tanzania to look into the possibility of investment in the country''s oil palm plantations.
Indonesia and Malaysia currently supply 80 percent of the global need for palm oil, while the remaining 20 percent come from Thailand and India, he said.
Data from the Agriculture Ministry show Indonesia''s crude palm oil (CPO) output reaches 16 million tons per year, 12 million tons of which are exported. (Source: Antara080507)

Ekspor Kakao, Sumut Raup US $ 12,7 Juta

Sumatera Utara Raup 12,7 Juta Dolar AS dari Ekspor Kakao

 

Medan, Sumatera Utara – Sumatera Utara meraup devisa sebesar 12,7 juta dolar AS dari ekspor kakao dalam tiga bulan pertama tahun 2007, menurut seorang pejabat setempat.

 

"Nilai ekspor kakao dari Januari hingga Maret 2007 meningkat sekitar 3 juta dolar AS dibandingkan dengan 9,4 juta dolar AS pada periode yang sama tahun lalu," kata Fitra Kurnia, pejabat Dinas Perindustrian dan Perdagangan Sumatera Utara, pada Kamis.

 

Volume ekspor kakao juga mengalami peningkatan, mencapai 7.636 ton dibandingkan 7.015 ton pada periode yang sama tahun 2006, tambahnya.

 

Ekspor kakao dari Sumatera Utara dikirim ke beberapa negara, seperti Malaysia, China, Singapura, dan Thailand.

 

Peningkatan pendapatan ekspor kakao ini disebabkan oleh naiknya harga kakao di pasar dunia serta meningkatnya permintaan terhadap komoditas tersebut, jelasnya.

 

SUMBER:

Antara, 3 Mei 2007

Modern VCO Factory to be Built in North Sulawesi

Manado, N Sulawesi - North Sulawesi will have a modern virgin coconut oil (VCO) factory which will be build at an investment value of Rp1.3 billion from provincial budget, an official has said.
"Bid for a contract to build the factory will finish this year and the factory will be operated next year," North Sulawesi Plantation Office head Rene Hosang said here Tuesday.
The proposed factory would use stainless steel machinery in a bid to maintain quality of VCO which was widely known as panacea, he said.
"Operation of the VCO factory will be handed over to a private firm which is required to make contribution to the provincial coffer. The VCO will be produced based on Indonesia''s National Standard (SNI) that it can be exported to many countries," he said.
The proposed VCO factory could be utilized by household business to purify their homemade VCO, Rene said.
North Sulawesi Coconut Farmer Association chairman Marthen Nelwan said the upcoming VCO factory would help improve quality of VCO which was mainly produced as home industry in many North Sulawesi households. (Source:Antara080507)

Indonesia Minta Konfirmasi EPA Kepada Jepang

 

Indonesia Akan Meminta Konfirmasi Jepang Terkait Penyelesaian EPA

 

Indonesia akan meminta konfirmasi dari Jepang mengenai penyelesaian Perjanjian Kemitraan Ekonomi (Economic Partnership Agreement/EPA) dengan negara tersebut, kata Menteri Perdagangan Mari Elka Pangestu di Jakarta pada Rabu.

 

"Kami akan pergi ke Jepang untuk meminta konfirmasi mengenai tindak lanjut EPA. Saat ini, kami masih menunggu informasi dari Menteri Perdagangan, Ekonomi, dan Industri serta Menteri Luar Negeri Jepang terkait rencana pertemuan bilateral kami," ujarnya.

 

Mari menyatakan bahwa negosiasi perjanjian tersebut telah memasuki tahap akhir. "Kami berupaya mendorong penyelesaian negosiasi secepat mungkin dan meminta kepastian mengenai jadwal serta waktu penandatanganan perjanjian oleh kepala negara kedua negara," katanya.

 

Mari berencana berangkat ke Jepang pada 16 Mei, kemudian melanjutkan perjalanan ke Amerika Serikat untuk mempromosikan investasi.

 

Menurut Ketua Perunding, Halida Miljani, dalam negosiasi pada bulan Maret, kedua pihak masih belum mencapai kesepakatan terkait substansi kerja sama.

"Kami berharap perjanjian ini dapat memberikan manfaat bagi kedua belah pihak," ujarnya beberapa waktu lalu.

 

Indonesia menginginkan Jepang tidak hanya memberikan bantuan dalam bentuk peningkatan kapasitas, tetapi juga membantu pembangunan pusat manufaktur agar Indonesia dapat memasok komponen dengan standar kualitas Jepang bagi industri otomotif, teknik, dan elektronik.

 

"Jika Indonesia dapat melakukan ini, manfaatnya akan sangat besar. EPA akan mendukung pengembangan industri," katanya.

 

Halida mengakui bahwa pembangunan pusat manufaktur tidak dapat direalisasikan dalam waktu singkat karena EPA memang dirancang untuk kemitraan jangka panjang.

 

Ia juga mengakui bahwa dana dari Jepang untuk tujuan ini sangat terbatas, sementara pembangunan pusat manufaktur tidak dapat sepenuhnya mengandalkan bantuan pembangunan resmi (ODA). Selain itu, Jepang tidak dapat memaksa industri mereka untuk memberikan bantuan lain di luar bantuan teknis.

 

Dalam negosiasi mengenai liberalisasi perdagangan barang, Indonesia telah menyetujui penghapusan bea impor atas bahan baku untuk produksi komponen yang digunakan oleh perusahaan Jepang di Indonesia.

 

Halida mengatakan bahwa mekanisme dan kriteria perjanjian tersebut masih dalam pembahasan.

 

Sebelumnya, Indonesia telah menghapus produk baja untuk industri otomotif, elektronik, dan teknik dari daftar barang yang mendapat pembebasan bea impor.

 

Kesepakatan mengenai pembebasan bea impor ini dicapai dengan syarat bahwa Jepang akan membantu Indonesia dalam meningkatkan kapasitas industri komponen baja. "Kami akan terus membahasnya hingga mencapai kesepakatan," ujarnya.

 

SUMBER:

Antara, 10 Mei 2007

Indonesia to Open 50,000 New Rubber Plantations

 

 Indonesia to Open 50,000 New Rubber Plantations Until 2010

 

Jakarta - Indonesia plans to rejuvenate 250,000 hectares of traditional rubber plantations and create 50,000 new plantations starting this year until 2010 in an effort to become the world''s largest natural rubber producer, an industry spokesman said.

Sudarto Mangunkusumo, executive director of the Association of Indonesia Rubber Companies (Gapkindo), said here on Monday the government would provide up to Rp2 trillion for the project.
He said Gapkindo had suggested that the government speed up the issuance of land certificates to the people so that they could have access to bank loans.

Indonesia should be fast in the effort so that it would not lose the momentum, he said, adding that China was already trying to invest in the development of three million hectares of rubber plantations in Indochina to meet its future needs.

"In 25 years, China will have three million hectares of rubber plantations in Indochina. If a hectare could produce a ton of rubber China''s need later will be met. So where will we sell ours," he said.
He said Gapkindo had also suggested that the government provide the seeds for the program.
If the program was successful the country''s natural rubber production would rise from 2.9 million tons in 2010 to 3.5 million tons in 2015.

Based upon data from the National Industry Roadmap 2010 and Vision 2030 of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2005 the country''s natural rubber production reached 2.27 million tons mostly coming from traditional plantations (1.8 million tons) while 210,000 tons from state-owned PT Perkebunan Nusantara plantations and 222,000 tons from private plantations. 

(Source:Antara080507)

Guangxi Province Interested in Investing in Indonesia

 

 China’s Guangxi Province Interested in Investing in RI Sugar Industry

 

Jakarta - The Guangxi Province in China is exploring possibilities of investment in the sugar industry in Indonesia, Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said.

"They are interested in building a sugar mill and open sugarcane plantations in Indonesia," Fahmi told the press after a meeting with Liu Qibao, a Guangxi provincial administration official, here on Monday.

He said the government will soon issue a policy on investment in the sugar industry under which those wishing to set up sugar mills in the country are also required to build sugarcane plantations. Investors would be given three years to prepare their sugarcane plantations.
Fahmi said, in his meeting with Liu Qibao, he had suggested that the Chinese investor set up a sugar mill and open a sugarcane plantation in Merauke district, Papua.

Merauke was a good location for the Chinese investment as vast tracts of land suitable for sugarcane planting were available there, he said. (Source: Antara 15/05/07)