Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto has unveiled plans to centralize exports of all strategic commodities, saying that the current trade shake-up has generated billions of dollars of additional foreign currency earnings.

In an almost two-hour-long state speech, Prabowo touted the fruits of his decision to implement a one-gate export system through the nascent Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI). The agency currently oversees the exports of palm oil, coal, and ferroalloys, although its activities are still limited to cross-checking the shipment documents.

“DSI will eventually manage all strategic commodity exports, so it won’t just be three. We no longer wish to be fooled. We must not let our wealth only fatten the pockets of a small group of individuals, while the people suffer,” Prabowo said.

The timeline of the proposed expansion, including the list of commodities joining the next tranche, remains undisclosed. 

According to Prabowo, DSI currently monitors over 6,500 export transactions despite having only been operational for around two and a half months. It oversees $14 billion worth of foreign exchange export earnings. DSI has identified a potential $5 billion boost in foreign exchange.

Prabowo said Indonesia’s commodities had lost “50% of their value” when shipped overseas, naming palm oil as an example.

“DSI will only deal with the [export] processes. It’s not meant to have a company that single-handedly controls the commodities and exports them. It has enabled us to keep an eye on the tonnages, what the exporters declare on paper, and how much has actually arrived in their destinations,” Prabowo explained.

The high-stakes speech also revealed plans for DSI to expand its monitoring to 50 ports across 25 provinces, giving them extra room to prevent exporters from under-reporting their shipment volumes. Prabowo went on to say that resource-rich Indonesia has had enough of other foreign entities “determining the price” of the shipments, even calling the move “a violation of economic principles”.

Indonesia’s foreign partners, including close neighbor Singapore, mainly respect Indonesia’s export overhaul.

In a recent Jakarta visit, Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong told the press that his country would work with Jakarta to “make sure its access to Indonesian exports will continue to flow freely”. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa at the time had accused some Singaporean trading companies of being involved in under-invoicing in the palm oil trade.

The one-gate export regime is still in a transition phase and was supposed to fully take effect in early 2027. Prabowo wants to accelerate its rollout to September. By then, DSI is expected to also take care of the shipments and transactions with the foreign buyers.

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