INDONESIA FORGES REGIONAL COOPERATION TO STABILIZE RUBBER PRICES by Fardah

Jakarta, 21/3, 2019 (Antara) - Indonesian rubber farmers have been hit by falling prices since Q4 of 2018, prompting the government to find ways to stabilize rubber prices, among other things, by forging cooperation with neighboring countries.

The price of rubber decreased 3.80 JPY/kg or 2.10 percent to 177.40 on March 20 from 181.20 in the previous trading session, and reached an all time high of 526.40 in February of 2011 and a record low of 132.10 in November of 2018, according to information on tradingeconomics.com.

The biggest producers of rubber are China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Others include Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and India.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has been concerned over the falling rubber prices, as they would affect the welfare of small farmers.

The government had approached Malaysia and Thailand to reduce the rubber supplies to the world's market, Jokowi told local rubber farmers in Lalang Sembawa Village, Sembawa Subdistrict, Banyuasin District, South Sumatra Province, recently.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand held a Special Ministerial Committee Meeting (MCM) of the International Tripartite Rubber Council in Bangkok, on February 22, 2019.

The meeting was chaired by Grisada Boonrach, Thai Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, as the host, and attended by Darmin Nasution, Indonesias Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, and Teresa Kok, Malaysias Minister of Primary Industries.

News Focus - PRIORITIZING PREVENTIVE MEASURES AGAINST FOREST FIRES by Fardah

Jakarta, 14/3, 2019 (Antara) - The Indonesian authorities have claimed that the number of forest fires had reduced some 85 percent over the past several years.

Thanks to the significant reduction, no neighboring countries had lodged complaint over the past few years as their countries were not free from haze usually exported by wildfires in Indonesia.

Despite that achievement, however, some Rp1 trillion had to be spent for fighting wildfires on peatlands in South Sumatra province last year, Chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Board (BNPB) Lt. Gen. Doni Monardo said on March 12, 2019.

In view of the high cost, he felt it was necessary to familiarize the public with the effort to preempt wildfires

It is better to prevent wildfires by familiarizing people nearby on how to tackle fires before they inflict losses worth hundreds of billions of rupiahs, he added.

The Rp1 trillion was spent on preventing smoke from reaching South Sumatra, which hosted the Asian Games in 2018. Monardo believed that It would be better to distribute the funds to local people rather than spent it on fighting wildfires.

Hence, the Environmental Affairs and Forestry Ministry's Forest and Land Fire Control Brigade, Manggala Agni, and stakeholders joining a forest fire task force, is currently focusing on preventive measures against the occurrence of forest fires in Riau Province, which was hit by forest years annually.

After extinguishing wildfires in the province, the ministry and the task force focused on preventive efforts, Raffles B. Panjaitan, the ministry's Director of Forest and Land Fire Control (PKHL), said.

During the January 1 to March 4, 2019 period, NOAA satellites detected a total of 160 hotspots, down 110 hotspots or 42.02 percent from 276 hotspots during the same period of the previous year.

NASA's Terra and Aqua Satellites detected 432 hotspots, with a trust rate above 80 percent, during the January 1 to March4, 2019 period, up 77 hotspots or 21.69 percent from 355 hotspots in the same period of 2018.

NEWS FOCUS- DEVELOPING ONLINE PLATFORM FOR TRADITIONAL MARKETS by Fardah

Jakarta, 13/3, 2019 (Antara) - The government of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has set itself the target of building and revitalizing at least five thousand traditional markets across Indonesia during its tenure (2014-2019).

The Trade Ministry has planned to revitalize a total of 1,037 traditional markets during 2019. Last year, the government revitalized 4,211 traditional markets across Indonesia by using specially allocated funds. The program has helped increase the traditional markets' turnover by 20 percent in average.

Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita stated that his ministry had built and revitalized 4,211 traditional markets during the 2015-2018 period. This year, 1,037 markets will be revitalized.

The ministry has allocated Rp12.47 trillion in funds to renovate 5,248 traditional markets throughout Indonesia. This year, Rp1.1 trillion will be spent up to revitalize 1,037 markets.

Jokowi has lauded the Trade Ministry for revitalizing some 4,200 traditional markets and 8,900 rural markets so far. "We have set a target to build some 5,200 by late 2019," Jokowi added.

Revitalizing more than five thousand traditional markets is among the Nawacita (Nine Priorities) program of Jokowi administration during his five-year term.

He had also called for transparent and professional management of traditional markets, in order to boost their competitiveness and make them at par with modern markets, such as malls and shopping centers.
But, the strategy of improving traditional markets does not stop by only revitalizing the physical buildings of those markets.

Jokowi has asked the Trade Ministry, local administrations, traditional market managers, and relevant stakeholders to develop an online platform that could connect vendors in traditional markets with consumers.

NEWS FOCUS -- EAST JAVA ACCELERATES FLOOD MITIGATION EFFORTS by Fardah

Jakarta, 13/3, 2019 (Antara) - Indonesia is currently transitioning from rainy to the dry season that usually begins in April or May.

However, high precipitation still occurred in several regions and triggered flooding in the provinces of West Java, East Java, Lampung, East Nusa Tenggara, and South Sumatra, among others.

In East Java Province, floods, triggered by heavy rains and the overflowing of several rivers, had inundated 15 districts, since March 5, 2019.

The 15 flood-affected districts included Madiun, Nganjuk, Ngawi, Magetan, Sidoarjo, Kediri, Bojonegoro, Tuban, Gresik, Pacitan, Trenggalek, Ponorogo, and Lamongan.

In Madiun, the worst affected by flooding were 39 villages in eight sub-districts that were inundated, as the Jeroan River spilled over its bank.

Flooding affected 4,317 households, comprising over 17 thousand people; seriously damaged two homes, three dykes, and two bridges; submerged 253 hectares of rice fields; and swept away tens of cattle, goats, and poultry.

The Caruban-Madiun toll road section, spanning from KM 603+600 to KM 604+000, was also disrupted by the floodwaters for 24 hours this week.

Madiun District Head Ahmad Dawami has declared an emergency status for the period from March 6 to March 19, 2019, following the flooding. The letter, declaring the emergency status, was signed by the Madiun district head on March 6.

"Everyone concentrates on flood victims. The district administration has established disaster command posts in every flood-affected sub-district. Community health centers are also on standby," Dawami stated.

News Focus - CEPA MARKS NEW MILESTONE IN INDONESIAN-AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC TIES

Jakarta, March 11, 2019  (Antara) - The signing of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) has marked a new chapter in the economic relations between the two countries.

     The IA-CEPA creates a framework for Australia and Indonesia to unlock the vast potential of bilateral economic partnership, fostering economic cooperation between businesses, communities, and individuals.

     On March 4, 2019, the IAPA was officially signed by Indonesian Minister of Trade, Enggartiasto Lukita, and Australian Minister of Trade, Tourism, and Investment, Simon Birmingham, in Jakarta.

     The agreement had been negotiated since 2010 but was halted until November 2013. Later, in March 2016, the agreement had been reactivated.

      "The signing of this agreement is very valuable. After six years of consideration, it has been signed," Lukita stated, adding that it also reflects the strong economic bond between the two countries.

     The IA-CEPA will erase 100 percent goods tariff rate from Indonesia to Australia, and 94 percent goods tariff rate from Australia to Indonesia.

      By signing the agreement, both Indonesia and Australia will gain benefits, such as The Indonesian Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FCMG) market, which is expected to benefit from Australia's cheaper sugar, and Indonesian pesticides, which will be more competitive in Australian market.

     Indonesian Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto considered the signing of the agreement as a new milestone in the Indonesian and Australian bilateral relations.

      "The IA-CEPA will have a positive impact on the Indonesian and Australian economies in the long term," Hartarto noted.

Aceh to promote halal tourism

Jakarta, Feb 28, 2019 (ANTARA News) - Indonesia`s western most province of Aceh is the only region in Indonesia that officially applies sharia (Islamic laws) in daily life, so when Aceh is determined to develop and promote halal (permissible according to Islamic laws) tourism industry, it knows exactly what it is.
As the province is rich in culture, arts, biodiversity, nature scenery, which are asset for tourism, the Aceh administration has decided to designate halal tourism as one of its priority products.
"Halal tourism has developed fast in the world. Hence, Aceh must take advantage of halal tourism. Hence, halal tourism should become Aceh`s priority product," Jamaluddin, head of the Aceh tourism and culture office, stated in Banda Aceh, recently.
Since 2014, there has been a boom in the world`s halal tourism market. Of the world`s total 6.8 billion population, at least 1.6 billion are Muslim, and 60 percent of them are under 30 years old. The Muslim travel market accounted for more than $142 billion in 2014.
It is projected that the number of Muslim travelers will reach some 180 million by 2020 and will constitute 11.4 percent of the market, with an expenditure projected to be $212 billion.
Recovering from the 2004 tsunami devastation, Aceh has approximately 803 objects of tourist interest and 774 cultural sites scattered across the province.