Denpasar, Oct. 4 -- Indonesia needs to accelerate seaweed downstreaming so that the commodity is not only exported as a raw material but also developed into value-added products by strengthening technology and processing industries, National Economic Council Chairman Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said.

"We want to see seaweed downstreaming efforts carried out in the near future," he said during the China-Southeast Asia Forum on Higher Education and Industry Cooperation 2026 in Denpasar, Bali, on Sunday.

Luhut said seaweed is one of the valuable parts of Indonesia's vast marine resources, stressing the need to capitalize on that potential by strengthening the processing industry to generate greater economic benefits.

According to Luhut, Indon...