The North Sumatra Provincial Government supports the Strategic Investment Downstreaming (HIS) program for the palm oil industry. North Sumatra has significant natural resource potential, including plantations and forestry, with various commodities such as rubber, palm oil, and timber. This was conveyed by North Sumatra's Provincial Secretary, Arief S Trinugroho, during the Regional Coordination Meeting (Rakorda) for the Strategic Investment Downstreaming Study in the plantation, marine, fisheries, and forestry sectors for 2024, held at the Diamond Ballroom, Cambridge Hotel, Medan, on Thursday, July 18, 2024. Arief stated that in 2023, North Sumatra's palm oil commodity covered an area of approximately 1,353,515 hectares with a production of 5,453,030 tons, ranking fourth in Indonesia after Riau, Central Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan.
Arief emphasized the necessity of downstream investment to create new opportunities for increasing the added value of commodities, generating employment, and promoting economic growth. He welcomed the coordination meeting and hoped it would facilitate the exchange of information, challenges, and issues related to the downstreaming of palm oil commodities in North Sumatra. Azhar Lubis, Special Staff for Bureaucratic Reform at the Ministry of Investment/BKPM, mentioned that the coordination meeting aimed to gather inputs on regulations and the social impacts of downstreaming. He highlighted that downstreaming could have economic benefits and improve community welfare. In 2023, North Sumatra was one of the largest contributors to Indonesia's industrial downstreaming, with investments reaching IDR 39.1 trillion from both Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Domestic Investment (DI). The event was also attended by North Sumatra's Head of BPS, Asim Saputra; Head of the Investment and One-Stop Integrated Service Office, Faisal Arif Nasution; Head of the Manpower Office, Ismael Parenus Sinaga; representatives from the Indonesian Palm Oil Farmers Association (APKASINDO) North Sumatra, the Palm Oil Business Association (GAPKI) North Sumatra, the North Sumatra Vegetable Oil Industry Association, and the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI) North Sumatra.
