Indonesia Launches State-owned Food Holding company

TheIndonesia.id - The Indonesian government has officially launched the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) food holding to develop an integrated food ecosystem transformation from upstream to downstream to increase the inclusiveness and welfare of farmers, ranchers, and fishermen.

"The launch of our food holding with the ID FOOD brand is not only (limited to) changing the logo, but to build the ecosystem and better supply chain between SOEs food holding," SOEs Minister Erick Thohir said at the ID FOOD launch in Kota Tua, on Wednesday, January 12, 2022.

Several basic needs such as cooking oil, sugar, meat, rice, salt, and plant fertilizers, were showcased at the launch.

The government has established PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI) as the holding company for food SOEs through Government Regulation Number 118 of 2021, which was signed at the end of last year.

"Hopefully, the food SOEs can play a bigger role in the national food ecosystem," RNI president director Arief Prasetyo Adi said.

The establishment of the holding company is in line with the government's goal of transforming the food sector by covering commodities ranging from rice, corn, chicken, beef, goat, chili fish, onions, sugar, and salt, he noted.

The food holding will be connected by a supply chain that ends in retail sales and can move up to become a world-class company, he said.

The management of the food holding company will be similar to other companies that have been previously formed, although the commodities handled will be different, he added. The food SOEs holding will continue to apply modern corporate governance, both for the potential of organic and non-organic development, he said.

In addition, the company will also play the role of an off-taker for several food commodities, and fix the basic SOEs for food clusters such as business models, cash flow management, procurement processes, partnership processes, and others as improvement efforts to increase national food productivity, he added.

Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi said he hopes that the food SOEs holding would strengthen the supply and food distribution chain to help the nation face various challenges in the future.

He lauded the launch of the holding company in the Kota Tua area, saying it reminded him of the VOC's spice trade in Kota Tua.

"Hopefully, we can absorb the spirit of fair and beneficial trade," Lutfi remarked, as reported by Antara.