Indonesia Boosts Sustainable Cocoa and Palm Oil Value

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta — The Indonesian government reaffirmed its commitment to boosting value addition and sustainability principles for cocoa and palm oil commodities to strengthen global market competitiveness. This strategic step was delivered by Minister of Trade Budi Santoso during the opening of the Regional Learning Forum on Sustainable Commodities in Jakarta on Thursday, August 27, 2026.

Implementing traceability and sustainability principles is key to responding to tight international market standards. This effort is expected to provide quality assurance and supply chain security for international buyers and investors.

The national downstreaming strategy has proven to significantly increase processed cocoa export values in recent years. Furthermore, international recognition of local commodity quality is opening greater opportunities to penetrate global premium markets.

“Global market competition is becoming increasingly competitive. Buyers do not only look at price, but also demand sustainability, food safety, and supply chain reliability. Therefore, Indonesia's export strategy must focus on increasing added value, meeting international standards, diversifying export markets, and optimizing international trade agreements,” the Trade Minister stated.

To support market access openness, the government is actively negotiating and implementing dozens of international trade agreements with various partner countries. This optimization is supported by a network of overseas trade representative offices ready to facilitate the absorption of national products.

“To optimize the utilization of trade agreements, Indonesian business actors can take advantage of the trade facilitation provided by the Ministry of Trade through a network of 46 trade representative offices spread across 33 export destination countries,” he said.

The promotion of these key commodities continues to be driven through annual international trade exhibitions such as Trade Expo Indonesia. The synergy of all stakeholders is expected to maintain Indonesia's leadership in palm oil and cocoa commodities worldwide.