JAKARTA, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Tuesday that the country's target on developing downstream industry, which initially focused on mineral products, would be expanded to the food sector.
"We will no longer export raw materials of food, including agricultural, plantation and marine products. We will process them domestically here so that the products have more value when they are exported," Widodo said in a statement released by the Presidential Office.
Indonesia is currently pushing for the industrialization of its natural resources. The country has imposed export bans on raw materials such as nickel and bauxite, and is said to start banning copper export in December this year.
The country's industrialization ambition has attracted foreign investors to build mineral processing smelters in Indonesia, creating job opportunities for local people and giving added value to exported products.
Widodo said the downstream industry in the food sector would likely be led by the next president, Prabowo Subianto, who would take office in October. He added that his successor had pledged to continue the downstreaming agenda.
"We must also build smelters to process tin, coal, copper, gold, and other commodities, to create derivative products," he said. ■