Two Years of Prabowo's Administration, Economic Council Claims Downstream Export Growth

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The National Economic Council (DEN) reported that Indonesia's mineral downstream product exports have increased during the two years of President Prabowo Subianto's administration.

Executive Secretary of the DEN, Septian Hario Seto, stated that the growth has reached 45 percent.

“This is a remarkable achievement that we presented to Mr. President because during his two-year term, our downstream exports have managed to increase by about 45 percent,” Seto said at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday (20/10/2026).

According to him, this can be seen from the projected value of downstream exports in 2026, which is expected to reach 50 billion dollars or approximately IDR 899 trillion.

This figure represents a 45 percent increase compared to 2024, which stood at USD 34.5 billion or around IDR 620 trillion.

“According to our calculations at the National Economic Council, by the end of this year, the downstream exports of nickel, aluminum, and lithium battery components will reach about 50 billion dollars, an increase of nearly 45 percent compared to our exports in 2024,” he explained.

Seto noted that the massive downstream processing occurring in Indonesia is not only limited to nickel but also extends to aluminum and lithium battery component processing.

According to data collected by the DEN, the projected aluminum product exports in 2026 are expected to reach USD 7.2 billion or IDR 129.5 trillion, more than doubling the achievements in 2024, which were around USD 3.5 billion or IDR 62.9 trillion.

“In the future, we estimate that aluminum exports could exceed around 10 billion dollars in line with the addition of investments from new aluminum smelters in Indonesia,” Seto clarified.

Regarding lithium battery component downstream processing, Seto explained that Indonesia is now producing various lithium battery components, including anodes and cathodes.

Moreover, Indonesia has established a lithium refinery despite lacking its own lithium resources.

"This means that Indonesia is already capable of industrializing from natural resources we do not possess. However, this industrialization is part of a more complete ecosystem of downstream processing," he concluded.