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Indonesia Plans to Bring Key Commodity Exports Under Centralized Control

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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday unveiled measures to centralize exports of the country's key commodities, as the government seeks to increase state revenue and strengthen control over its abundant natural resources.

In a fiery speech to Indonesia's parliament, Subianto said he found it strange that, despite being the world's largest palm oil producer, the country continues to accept prices set by other countries.

He said that the country had lost $908 billion in revenue over the past 34 years because Indonesian commodities were being sold overseas for cheap, before adding that a central government-run enterprise would now sell key exports such as palm oil, coal and ferroalloy, according to a Reuters report.

"All sales of our resources, from palm oil [to] coal, must be through a (state-operated enterprise) selected by the government as [the] sole exporter," he said.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Indonesia's Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said that the commodities affected in the first stage of this new norm would be coal, palm oil and ferroalloy, with more being added to the list every three months.

He also announced that there would be a three-month transition period, during which exporters and businesses can continue to do business as usual.

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