The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) is continuously striving to enhance the competitiveness of the national cassava starch industry by bridging producers and users through business matching activities. Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita stated that this initiative aims to optimize the absorption of domestic products and reduce the relatively high reliance on imports. Currently, the utilization rate of the national cassava starch industry has only reached approximately 43 percent of the total capacity across 125 existing companies. Through this program, the government hopes local industries can meet the specific requirements of user industries in both the food and non-food sectors, such as paper and ethanol.
In its implementation, the Ministry is collaborating with the Indonesian Tapioca Flour Entrepreneurs Association (PPTTI) to create a more integrated and efficient industrial value chain. The primary focus of this policy is to strengthen connectivity between upstream and downstream sectors to ensure that local raw materials are fully absorbed by national industries. Although the export performance of cassava starch grew positively by 58.35 percent as of November 2025, price and quality competition with imported products remains a significant challenge. The government is committed to continuing its support for the downstreaming of this strategic commodity to bolster national economic resilience and achieve industrial independence based on local resources in 2026.
