Up to now, agribusiness sectors (food and agriculture) are still holding important role in national economy. This sector employs numerous human resources and producing domestic income from the non oil and gas sectors. However, the global economic condition and the multidimensional crisis which is faced in side the country are decreasing the export capacity of various products, including food products. Besides, along with the tendency of the world economy into the global trade liberalization, where trade barrier is not only by the tariff but also by the food safety issue, environmental, and so on, the potential food products export capacity experience significant barrier.
On the other side, although the potency of food export products are very large, the products are still imported, especially their derivative products. Situation on palm oil industry in Indonesia is of prime example. Most of the palm oil industry in Indonesia is still dominated by CPO industry and its purification into frying oil. The derivates of palm oil, such as surfactant and healthy oil, has not fully developed yet, and even still being imported. In other case, for medicinal plants, from the point of view of natural resources, the Indonesian potency is greater than China and Malaysia. However, from the national herbal markets as much as 20 M US$, or about Rp. 170 trilion Indonesia is merely occupy about 2%. On the other side, the import value of pharmaceutical ingredients with organic materials on it is as much as 160 million US$ or about 1.4 trillion. Considering its natural resources and the herbal plant improvement program, Indonesia could reducing the herbal plant import up to 40% or 544 billion rupiahs per year, and the herbal market share, at minimum, 10% or 17 trillion rupiahs could be acquired.
Other problems laid on the export products. The Indonesian export products are frequently rejected by the major importer countries because the products do not meet the food quality and safety standards.
SEAFAST Center which has core competence on food quality, nutrition and safety improvement is commits to participate on increasing the national export, especially by increasing the competitiveness of potential export products. In addition to increasing export, the main purpose is to reduce the detention of export products. Some of the offered programs are research and development, developing policy and technological transfer. The research and development activity would be conducted by studying comprehensively on the international trading of export products, either through the long term program or the short term program. On the other side, the policy development would be done by developing international trade, research and technological information system which is expected to become a Clearing House of the overall (trade, research and technology) competitive product information. Meanwhile, the technological transfer would be done by trainings on subjects related to the international trading system, either through managerial training or technical training.
Objectives
- The availability of a complete and comprehensive database related to food products which are potential for export and the chance to develop it.
- To provide clear and comprehensive description about the situation in the international trade for potential export products.
- Increasing networking between the exporters of superior commodities in order to overcome the food export as a team.
- To produce international trading information for potential export food products which would be developed into Clearing House of Trading Information for Potential Export Products.
- Helping the businessmen and the government to overcome export products detention.
