TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi said that Indonesia is planning to export corn to Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia in 2023. Bapanas will export as many as 200,000 tons in the first three months (Q1).

"In the first three months, as many as 200,000 tons," Arief said in Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

Arief said that he had met with ambassadors of export target countries to discuss the plan. However, Arief admitted that there are still several hurdles that must be overcome by Bapanas. Among the hurdles is the implementation of technology to move corn from one ship to the other. To develop such technology, the government allocated Rp2 trillion of investment funds.

"By using a technology like [an elephant's] trunk. So the trunk will move the corn from ship to ship. Unlike now, using tarps, nets," Arief said.

Previously, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said that president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo had instructed to increase corn productivity by opening new farms and planting quality seeds.

The president's instruction, according to Airlangga, was made based on the consideration of the potential of corn plants. Based on USDA data from 2022, Indonesia's corn production reached up to 34.4 million tons.

The government also planned to carry out efficiency measures in all lines of corn supply line activities, starting from harvest, post-harvest process, storage, and transportation and distribution. Improving efficiency is carried out by implementing agriculture innovation and technology, such as the use of digital technology in precision agriculture.

According to Airlangga, there is high potential for the upstreaming of the corn industry for processed food production such as corn starch, corn vermicelli, corn grits, corn sweetener, and snacks. Airlangga said that Indonesia will conduct expansion of corn processing industry in several regions and adjust specification of corn raw materials between domestic production and industrial needs.