Heaptalk, Jakarta — Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita strongly supported Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman’s recent mandate requiring milk processing industries to prioritize domestic fresh milk sourced from local dairy farmers and cooperatives. According to the Ministry, this policy underscores the government’s commitment to supporting local dairy farmers.
“This step reflects the government’s commitment to our smallholder farmers,” Minister Agus stated.
Domestic fresh milk production meets only 20%, or around 750,000 tons, of the national demand from the dairy processing industry. Of this amount, approximately 530,000 tons are supplied by the Indonesian Milk Cooperatives Association, which includes 59 cooperatives and 44,000 dairy farmers meeting required quality standards. However, the remaining 80% of milk supply still relies on imports, creating a significant gap between local production and demand.
“To prevent this gap from widening, we encourage the Ministry of Agriculture, as the authority supporting dairy farmers, to assist them in improving processes from milking to storage and handling the milk meets industry specifications,” Agus remarked.
Minister of Industry explained that while the national dairy processing industry grows at an average rate of 5% per year, domestic fresh milk production grows by only 0.9% annually. The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) has been actively facilitating partnerships between dairy processors and local cooperatives to boost the absorption of domestic fresh milk (SSDN).
This includes long-term supply contracts, farmer training to improve milk quality, and enhancements in supply chain infrastructure, such as cooling systems and the digitalization of milk collection points (TPS).
In addition, the Ministry has implemented a digital and technological upgrade program at 96 milk collection points across West and East Java from 2022 to 2024. These initiatives aim to preserve cold storage standards, minimize microbial contamination, and ensure optimal nutritional content (protein and fat levels) in fresh milk.
Moreover, the Ministry of Industry advocates including milk in the Staple and Essential Goods (Bapokting) list to support its classification in the National Commodity Balance.
With these combined efforts, the Ministry aims to bridge the demand-supply gap, reduce import dependency, and enhance the quality and availability of domestic fresh milk for Indonesia’s dairy processing industry.
