Danantara says DSI will monitor not monopolise commodity exports

Indonesia's new single-gateway export system for strategic natural resources will not make state-owned PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI) the country's sole exporter, but instead position it as a sales agent and monitoring platform to improve price transparency and curb trade fraud, Danantara CEO Rosan Roeslani said.

The clarification follows concerns over the government's plan to channel exports of strategic commodities through DSI beginning Sept. 1 as part of broader efforts to tighten oversight of commodity exports and increase foreign exchange earnings.

"Exports can still be conducted directly. We are only acting as a sales agent," Rosan told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Monday.

He said Indonesian exporters would continue to negotiate and ship cargoes directly to overseas buyers, particularly under existing long-term contracts.

DSI's role would be to monitor transactions and ensure export prices reflect prevailing market levels, he said, adding that the system would help detect cases where commodities were sold below benchmark prices.

"The objective is to address under-invoicing and transfer pricing that have occurred so far, so we can detect them through the system," Rosan said.

He said DSI was still evaluating the framework but could eventually become the sole sales agent for strategic commodity exports, while exporters would continue to transact directly with buyers.

President Prabowo Subianto said on Monday the government would fully implement the single-gateway export system on Sept. 1, four months ahead of the original Jan. 1, 2027 target.

The system, introduced through DSI, aims to improve governance of exports of strategic commodities such as coal, crude palm oil and ferroalloys by allowing authorities to monitor export volumes, buyers, pricing and the repatriation of export proceeds.

Prabowo said DSI had managed more than $10.5 billion in export foreign exchange proceeds during its first six weeks of operation and had helped narrow the gap between declared Indonesian export prices and international market prices, which he previously said ranged from 30% to 45%.

DSI, a subsidiary of Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia, began a transition phase on June 1 focused on building a digital platform to monitor export transactions and identify suspected under-invoicing while allowing compliant exporters to continue operating without disruption.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak