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Ir. Budianto Wijaya Presented by Ir. Yosafat Siregar Association of Indonesian Wheat Flour Producers (APTINDO) Dr Melania Gondomartojo World Food Programme (WFP)
Nutrition Problems in Indonesia
Indonesia is currently facing thetriple burdenof malnutrition, namely undernutritionand hidden hunger. Undernutrition can be translated as stunting, overnutrition as overweight and obeseand hidden hunger as anaemia, vitamin A, deficiency and iodine deficiency. Data from the current situation analysis shows that almost 50% of pregnant women suffer from anaemia, while around 30-40% of adolescents suffer from anaemia. The magnitude of the ’hidden hunger’ problem varies from region to region due to the size of the region and the population.
Development of Wheat Flour Consumption
Wheat flour consumption from 2021 to May 2023 appears to have decreased. National wheat flour consumption was only 6.9 million metric tonnes or wheat equivalent of 8.9 million metric tonnes in 2021. Then, there was a decline in 2023, with total wheat flour consumption of 2.7 metric tonnes. If there is information such as data obtained from BPS regarding wheat imports that could reach 11 million metric tonnes, the stock of wheat flour is 500 less, because this amount is also allocated to other things such as animal feed.
The average consumption of wheat flour in Indonesia has increased every year. However, in 2022 there was a slight decrease due to the COVID Pandemic. Data in 2022 shows that national wheat flour consumption reached 6.7 million MT. The premix fortifier needed for 230 ppm is around 1500 metric tonnes or around 200 billion rupiah. Wheat flour fuels the food industry made from wheat flour, such as biscuits and others, which are now very much driven by MSMEs. Wheat flour is also a locomotive for other local food commodities. As we know, wheat flour is also processed into various processed wheat flour products which in the manufacturing process need to use other ingredients such as butter, eggs, palm oilitsugar and others. Furthermore, the development of composite flour using local flour is very potential in the future, because the application of wheat flour into final products is increasingly diverse. In 2023, APTINDO developed some local flours and sold them in the market such as sweet potato flour, which has very good nutritional value. APTINDO also collaborated with IPB and farmers. However, there are obstacles faced where the flour content is quite high at 60% so it must be crossed to 40% which makes the price very expensive.
Pabrik Tepung Terigu
Pabrik tepung terigu di Indonesia teralokasi di Sumatera Utara, Dumai, Cilegon, Jawa Barat, Jakarta, dan di Jawa Timur. Update terbaru menyatakan bahwa kapasitas giling dan gulung sekitar 14 juta metrik ton (MT) per tahun. Konsumsi tepung terigu seperti ini sebagian besar atau sekitar 68% atau 70% adalah UMKM. APTINDO saat ini sedang intens membina UMKM agar dapat tumbuh terus menerus dengan baik. Pengelompokkan pabrik tepung terigu tersebar di berbagai wilayah di Indonesia. Seperti, PT. Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk sebagai pabrik tepung terigu terbesar memiliki 4 pabrik, yaitu di Jakarta, Surabaya, Tangerang dan Cibitung. Disusul dengan PT. Bungasari Flour Mills yang memiliki 3 pabrik yaitu di Cilegon, Medan, dan Makassar. Dan beberapa industri kecil pabrik tepung terigu yang tersebar di beberapa wilayah. Jumlah total pabrik dan Kap. Giling gandum adalah sebesar 14 juta MT/tahun.
Pada tahun 2023, APTINDO mengembangkan beberapa tepung lokal dan sempat dijual di pasar seperti, tepung ubi jalar, dimana nilai gizinya sangat bagus. APTINDO juga bekerjasama dengan IPB dan petani. Namun, terdapat kendala yang dihadapi dimana tepung kadarnya cukup tinggi 60% sehingga harus disilangkan menjadi 40% yang membuat harganya menjadi sangat mahal.
Fortificant Imports
Indonesian fortificant import data for 2020-2022 obtained from BPS shows that the largest import of fortificant premixes into Indonesia is 70% obtained from Malaysia. India and China are also supplier countries fortifying premixes in Indonesia. Data in 2022 shows as much as 15.6 million USD or around 225 billion Rupiah supplied from DSM, Muhlenchemie, and Hexagon.
Wheat flour exports
Indonesia's wheat flour export data has increased on average every year. In 2021, wheat flour exports were 1.19 billion USD or grew 3.2%. Then it rose to 1.48 billion USD which grew by 23.9% in 2022. In 2023 the export of wheat flour by product (wheat bran) was 77.3 million USD which grew by 39.2%. As for products made from wheat raw materials around 408.24 million USD or grew by 10.9%. During the Covid pandemic, Indonesian products were very competitive abroad, so it is hoped that economic conditions will begin to improve in 2023.
The Long Journey of Mandatory Wheat Flour Fortification
Mandatory wheat flour fortification has come a long way. It started in 1995, when the Asian Development Bank & UNICEF government pioneered a project to overcome micronutrient deficiencies through fortification of wheat flour with iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), folic acid, vitamin B1 and vitamin B2. Wheat flour fortification was first regulated by the Decree of the Minister of Health No. 632 of 1998 on wheat flour fortification and applied nationally starting in 2002 with the mandatory SNI of wheat flour on 2 February. However, in 2008 the government through the Ministry of Industry relaxed wheat flour fortification for approximately 6 months due to the world food crisis. And the second relaxation occurred when Indonesia was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic until the end of 2022, where the Indonesian Minister of Industry issued Circular Letter No. 5 of 2020 concerning Temporary Exclusion of Addition of Fortified Substances in Wheat Flour. WHO in 2006 recommended iron compounds in sulfate, fumarate and EDTA as fortificants. The WHO recommendation received a lot of attention among academics so that a change in fortificants from elemental iron to other fortificants was carried out. Industry players chose fumarate because the taste test results were favoured by consumers and the price was cheaper. In 2021 there is a revision of SNI Wheat Flour SNI 3751: 2009 to SNI 3751: 2018 (Determination through Minister of Industry Regulation No. 1/2021).
Investment in the wheat flour industry has been increasing every year until now, both in the form of additional production capacity and the establishment of new factories. This business climate needs to be maintained so that it is always conducive. APTINDO remains committed to implementing wheat flour fortification. The development of composite flour using local flour is very potential in the future, because the application of flour into end products is very diverse.
Mandatory wheat flour fortification efforts require cooperation between the government, industry players, academia, and consumer groups according to their respective capabilities. Academic groups can conduct research that provides evidence of the benefits of fortification. For this reason, it is necessary to conduct an academically validated effectiveness study to ensure that micronutrients in fortified food can be accepted and consumed by the community. In addition, to assess the success of fortification programme implementation and its problems in the field, integrated and sustainable monitoring activities are needed, in order to create consumer certainty to consume micronutrients from fortified food in sufficient quantities to meet body needs. The results of regular monitoring should be discussed together with the government, industry, academia, and consumer groups in an effort to improve the success of the fortification programme. Coordination and integration of interested parties need to be established through a forum. This forum is certainly formed based on the agreement between Ministries/Institutions, industry, academia, and consumer groups.
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