VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian Central Statistics Agency on Thursday (15/7) launched Indonesia's trade balance, which experienced a surplus of US$1.32 billion dollars in June 2021. The total value of exports reached US$18.55 billion dollars and the total import value of US$17.23 billion dollars. Head of the Central Statistics Agency, Margo Yuwono said that this achievement was the 14th time in a row since May 2020. This shows that there is resilience in terms of national exports and imports, despite the current Covid-19 pandemic.

Responding to the report, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto said that the momentum of Indonesia's trade balance surplus must be maintained through a number of strategies. He also remarked that to maintain the sustainability of the trade surplus going forward, several key factors need to be kept in mind. These key factors include maintaining stable global demand growth, particularly in key markets. Indonesia must also maximize the role and function of trade representatives in encouraging increased exports. Other efforts that need to be done are monitoring the dynamics of price developments and export volumes of main and potential commodities, as well as maintaining a balance of import growth, especially in the consumption import component.

Minister Airlangga believes that the increase in exports and imports in June 2021, both monthly and annually, shows that economic activity in Indonesia continues to recover. Indonesia's trade balance performance is still quite impressive even in the midst of Covid-19. The performance of the trade balance which is quite resilient amid the Covid-19 pandemic needs to be appreciated.

The surplus in June 2021, in particular, was supported by exports of some of Indonesia's mainstay non-oil and gas commodities, namely animal and vegetable fats and oils, mineral fuels, and iron and steel. The increase in exports was also influenced by movements in global commodity prices, such as coal and CPO.

Overall, this positive trade balance performance was also influenced by developments in manufacturing activity in major trading partner countries, particularly the USA and China. Head of the Central Statistics Agency, Margo Yuwono said that the countries that contributed to the surplus in Indonesia's trade balance in June 2021 were the United States, the Philippines and Malaysia.

Cassavapeel is rarely used. It is immediately thrown away for animal feed. But it is different from the people of Sumedang in West Java. They process cassava peel to be a special dish, called ‘Kadedemes’ or well-known as stir-fried cassava peel which is often eaten as side dishes mixed with rice. According to the Sundanese traditional language dictionary written by Raden Satjadibrata, Kadedemes means “feeling affection for things which are not usually used by other people”.

Kadedemes is made from cassava peel, shallots, garlic, red chilies, green chilies, cooking oil, sugar, salt, and flavoring. The cassava peel is first cleaned and boiled until it is softer. The well-done cassava peel is sliced thinly. Then, it is sautéed with various spices. If you like spicy food, you can also add some pepper to taste. Kadedemes is better eaten warm with hot rice. When eaten, the cassava peel texture is certainly not as hard as the original one. But, it is also tasty and delicious.

Even though it is made from unused cassava peel, Kadedemes is very rich in protein that is useful for the body, such as a source of nutrition, and a source of carbohydrates which contain high levels of vitamin B, vitamin C, tannin and starch. For those who are interested in enjoying this dish, you can find Kadedemes in many restaurants in the Sumedang area with relatively affordable prices, about Rp. 5,000 to Rp. 10,000 per serving with rice.

Indonesia has the highest ranking for both hydro-meteorological and geological hazards. Large population makes a disaster risky of causing many victims. To reduce the risk, it is necessary to make efforts to prevent disasters and mitigate the risk. Disaster education is one of the keys to disaster mitigation and prevention. Disaster education begins at a very early age, namely for children at the PAUD or early childhood education level. University of Indonesia (UI) students published a pop-up book on emergency response and disaster mitigation for students in Early Childhood Education (PAUD) and early elementary school grades.

Pop-up books are books that can display three-dimensional images when we open the page. This image that appears looks more real because it appears in the middle of the book. Of course, with this more interesting method, children are increasingly interested in knowing things related to disasters. Later, the book will also be equipped with interactive audio that can be accessed via barcode. In the early stages, there are three book series, namely the earthquake series, the volcanic eruption series, and the flood series.

The person in charge of design and content, Luthfan explained that this idea emerges because Indonesia's background is a country prone to natural disasters. This is because Indonesia is located at the confluence of three plates, namely Eurasia, Australia, and Asia-Pacific. So, lessons on natural disaster mitigation need to be introduced to children from an early age, with visualization as attractive as possible. Luthfan also explained that this book is also made of environmentally friendly materials. In addition, there are interesting games for children at the end of the book.

The Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo through the Indonesian Cultural House (RBI) Tokyo held an Indonesian Herbal Medicine Workshop to promote herbal medicine as a healthy traditional beverage of Indonesian cultural heritage to Japanese citizens on Saturday (10/7). This virtual activity, which was attended by more than 80 Japanese citizens, presented a young figure, Riskina Juwita, an Indonesian citizen who is starting an herbal medicine business in Japan. The workshop was opened by Chairperson of the Dharma Wanita Persatuan (DWP) of the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo, Nuning Akhmadi. It was also attended by Head of the Function of Social and Cultural Affairs, Meinarti Fauzie and the Education and Culture Attaché, Yusli Wardiatno. Besides, Nuning Akhmadi emphasized that herbal medicine is not only a healthy beverage, but also   Indonesian cultural wealth that needs to be preserved and popularized, particularly among the young generation.

The wife of the Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia, Yasuko Kanasugi and the wife of the Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia for the 2017-2021 period, Sayoko Ishii were also present at the event. Sayoko Ishii explained that the workshop is relevant to the Covid-19 pandemic, where Japanese citizens are able to get to know about traditional healthy beverages from Indonesia.

Moreover, RBI also shared recipes and the way how to make turmeric tamarind, ginger Wedang, and Kencur rice and showed the original ingredients that can be easily purchased in the Tokyo area. This event was also enlivened by the “Mbok Jamu” Dance by Sanggar Duta Melati Member, Chika. It was closed by singing the song “Suwe Ora Jamu” along with the piano accompaniment musical instrument, Noriko Sasaki.