Indonesia’s trade ministry faces barrage of questions from businesses over new export control plan
FILE PHOTO: A large screen displays Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto as he delivers his speech on economic policies and the 2027 fiscal plan to parliament members at the parliament building in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 20, 2026. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo
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JAKARTA, June 9 : Indonesian trade ministry officials faced a barrage of questions on Tuesday from exporters of palm oil, coal and ferroalloys worried about the impact of a controversial new export control plan designed to extract more profit from the country’s natural resources.
In an online forum held by the government, businesses expressed concern about how the new rules will be implemented, even after the publication of detailed rules earlier this week.
President Prabowo Subianto surprised the business world last month when he revealed a new plan to channel all key commodity exports through a state firm by the start of next year, aiming to boost government revenue by imposing stricter controls over the sale and pricing of Indonesia’s abundant natural resources.
The government published 11 pages of regulations earlier this month outlining the implementation schedule for the new controls.
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This week, the trade ministry also released more detailed guidelines for three of the strategic commodities subject to the new rules, which took effect on June 1.
Exporters are now obliged, in the first phase, to report all their export activities to state firm Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI).
However during an online awareness campaign held by the trade ministry, exporters expressed concerns about the integrity of long-term contracts, and said the commercial mechanism for exporting products affected by the new rules remains unclear.
If all exports are channelled through the state, producers are also unclear who will ultimately pay for their products.
“Starting from January 1, we are selling through DSI … Will the sale to DSI be recognised as exports (paid in) U.S. dollars, or as a local sale with payments in Indonesian rupiah?” one company representative asked, noting concerns about the currency risks from U.S. dollar loans.
He also asked whether payments for the goods will be made before they are exported, or by the end-customer, which would be a key issue for a company’s cash flow.
The ministry officials deferred most questions to DSI, which did not attend the event, and simply said the contracts will be carried out on a business-to-business basis.
Several participants also asked how they could reach out to DSI, which at the time of Prabowo’s announcement had only one employee: its CEO.
Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara said its new unit’s operations would initially be backed up by civil servants from several ministries, but DSI is hiring and developing the technologies to monitor exports.
Another participant at the meeting asked which party would be in charge of negotiating prices with end buyers, both during and after the transition period up to December 31, 2026.
Danantara said it will review the prices on existing export contracts to make sure they are not below market levels. Prabowo said last month that underpriced commodities had cost the country nearly a trillion dollars over the last 34 years.
Source: Reuters
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