0 Jambi entrepreneurial activity increases in Q1: BI

The head of Bank Indonesia’s (BI) Jambi branch, Marlison Hakim, has said that entrepreneurial activity in Jambi increased by 1.79 percent in the first quarter (Q1) of 2013. The agriculture sector contributed 2.09 percent to this growth, particularly the plantation and food crop subsectors, which increased by 2.41 percent and 2.29 percent respectively, he said. Citing the 4th Quarter 2012 Entrepreneurial Activity Survey, Marlison said that rice harvest season in the first quarter of this year would promote food crop subsector growth. 

Moreover, price increases of rubber at the international level could become an incentive for entrepreneurs to increase their plantation products. “An agreement on the rubber export restriction scheme between three countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, has increased the price of rubber,” said Marlison on Wednesday. Agricultural improvements in Jambi would accelerate the growth of the manufacturing industry as they played a key role in creating derivative products from agricultural commodities, he went on. 

Such trends [of higher commodity prices] could also be seen in increases of sales price estimates, he added. “Business players perceived that sales prices of plantation commodities grew by 2.41 percent. But it’s a fact that such economic growth can be followed by an increase of the sales price estimate of daily needs, which is estimated to be higher compared to the fourth quarter of 2012,” said Marlison. Meanwhile, it is also estimated that the province’s economic growth will increase employment levels. 

The workforce is expected to increase by 4.57 percent. As the food crop harvest period began in Q1 this year, labor demands in the agriculture sector were expected to increase by 0.76 percent. Meanwhile, the trade sector is expected to grow by 0.74 percent. Marlison said the price increases of commodities should not just trigger increased consumption but could also hopefully be directed to something that was more productive that people could use to support their livelihoods in the event of a price shock. “Moreover, we expect that a lot of development projects currently taking place in Jambi will not increase the price expectations of local residents, as that could lead to an economic bubble that may increase inflationary pressures in Jambi,” he said. (ebf)

source : the jakarta post