The Ministry of Finance or Ministry of Finance stated that Aceh must take advantage of the economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen the downstream industry, with all the potential that exists in the Tanah Rencong area. "This is the momentum, if we were lacking in the past, now we are strengthening, for example, downstream (industry) activities that we were not strong before," said the Head of Representative of the Ministry of Finance of Aceh Province, Safuadi in Banda Aceh, Wednesday, October 5, 2022. Safuadi explained that the national economic system was very disrupted during this time. pandemic. Likewise with Aceh, but not as bad as other provinces in the country which have a manufacturing industry. Meanwhile, Aceh, he continued, does not yet have a manufacturing industry. The largest contribution to Aceh's economic growth comes from the agriculture and fisheries sectors, and they are not even connected to each other so that they do not have a major impact during the pandemic. “Meanwhile, in West Java, Central Java, North Sumatra, for example, factories work on interconnection, so if one is hit, everything is in trouble. In Aceh, the economic impact due to the pandemic is there, but it is not as severe as in areas where the manufacturing industry is growing," he said.
He added that the pandemic would end soon. Economic recovery will continue with various government programs. Therefore, Aceh must take advantage of that momentum to rise to strengthen its downstream industry. Safuadi said, it is time for Aceh to prepare for downstream economic development such as sugar factories, cooking oil, eggs, and other commodities. At least to meet the needs of the community so as not to continue to depend on other regions. “For example, a sugar factory, we are very dependent on Lampung. Because we have the potential, at least to meet the needs of our own people such as sugar, eggs, cooking oil, which we have to start from now on," he said. mini sugar on an area of 3 hectares in Bener Meriah Regency, with an initial capacity of 100 TDC. ," he said.
