Jakarta (WNAM MONITORING): Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan has said that the Indonesian Government will stop importing table salt from next year and start focusing on ramping up domestic production.
At a coordination meeting in Jakarta on Thursday, Hasan informed that the decision is based on Presidential Regulation Number 126 of 2022 concerning the Acceleration of National Salt Development.
“The responsibility for salt is part of food, it (RI) must be self-sufficient. For next year, we will not allow salt import for consumption,” he emphasized.
He then informed that the responsibility for increasing salt production lies with the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Sakti Wahyu Trenggono.
He urged the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries to strengthen salt production capacity to meet domestic needs.
According to Hasan, the ministry is responsible for ensuring the production of industrial salt to meet national needs without relying on imports.
Meanwhile, the industry has been asked to report their salt needs transparently for accurate planning. In the next two years, the cessation of industrial salt imports will also be enforced, Hasan added.
“The industry can submit the amount needed, followed by the cessation of industrial salt imports under the responsibility of Minister Trenggono in two years,” he disclosed.
He said the plan is in line with the central government’s commitment to achieving food self-sufficiency by 2027.
“All of these efforts aim to achieve food self-sufficiency as conveyed by President Prabowo Subianto at the APEC Summit and G20 Summit. From the self-sufficiency target in 2028, the President has conveyed at the G20 to speed up the target to 2027,” he added.
Besides table salt, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman is also confident about stopping rice imports from 2025, considering Indonesia’s rice production target of 32 million tons for next year.
On Tuesday, he pointed out that rice production in 2025 will increase annually by 1 million tons compared to 2024. Therefore, he said he is optimistic that the amount would be sufficient to meet domestic needs without imports.
