Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia During the Opening of 51st Cocotech International Coconut Conference and Exhibition 2024, Surabaya, East Java Province, July 22, 2024
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,
Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
Good morning.
May peace be upon us all.
Distinguished Minister of Trade, Minister of State Secretary,
Distinguished Executive Director of the International Coconut Community (ICC) Dr. Jelfina C. Alouw,
Distinguished [Acting] Governor of East Java Province, Regional Leadership Coordination Forum, and coconut businesspeople,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Moving forward, green economy will serve as an opportunity and will become a huge potential for our country, be it related to chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, coffee, pepper, clove, or others. Most importantly, coconut has a huge potential.
We have a land area of 3.8 million [hectares] for coconut with a production of 2.8 million tons annually. This is massive. As Dr. Jelfina said, we are the second in the world and the provinces with a high production potential are North Sulawesi and Riau. Our export value is huge, USD1.55 billion. This is a great figure and it can be increased if we are serious in dealing with matters related to coconut.
In my opinion, there are two most important things. The first is boosting coconut production. The second is related to downstreaming for increasing added value. I suppose I should not talk about production increase as you know more than I do, but in my opinion, seedling quality is essential. Seedling quality is essential. Maintenance and treatment are also critical. Usually, when we plant trees, we only harvest the fruits without doing maintenance.
Regarding harvesting methods. If we have millions of coconut trees, we have to prepare skilled people to harvest coconuts. If the trees are only two meters high, there will not be any problem, but if there are millions of coconut trees with a height of 20 meters, how many people do we have to prepare to harvest the coconuts? Seedling quality, maintenance or treatment, and harvesting methods.
Concerning downstreaming, high-added values are vital for our country, especially for job creation. Research is essential in this case. If the trees are 20-30 meters high, it will be better to harvest the coconuts from the ground. The number of coconuts should also be huge. This is why research matters.
Technology for downstreaming must be utilized for that matter. I noticed that coconut waste has been used for bioenergy. It is important to continue to be developed in the future. Coconut can also be turned into bioavtur (biofuel for planes). Our big task is to increase its uses and make other countries be interested in it.
This conference is crucial to Indonesia as the second largest coconut producer in the world and Indonesia is also concerned with introducing its national coconut potential, expanding networks, and finding new opportunities for coconut industry development in Indonesia. I’d like to invite all of the international coconut community to synergize to develop a sustainable coconut industry that supports the global green economy.
That concludes my statement, and by saying bismillahirrahmanirrahim, I officially open the 51st Cocotech International Coconut Conference and Exhibition.
I thank you.
Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
(DH/EP)