South Sulawesi freight transport: Driving the logistics sector

This article has been translated by PwC Indonesia as part of our Indonesia Infrastructure News Service. PwC Indonesia has not checked the accuracy of, and accepts no responsibility for the content.

Bisnis Indonesia - Angkutan barang Sulsel: Memacu deru sektor logistik

23 April 2025

By Nugroho Nafika Kassa

Bisnis, Makassar — The logistics and warehousing sector in South Sulawesi throughout last year advanced more rapidly than the province's gross regional domestic product growth. Agricultural sector vigour and digitalisation are expected to drive freight transport growth this year.

Statistics Indonesia (SI) reported that South Sulawesi's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) grew by 5.02% throughout last year, while the logistics and warehousing sector advanced by 5.09%.

The Indonesian Logistics and Forwarders Association (ILFA) projects that logistics flow in South Sulawesi will continue to grow alongside the strengthening agricultural sector in South Sulawesi.

The Chairperson of ILFA South and West Sulawesi Regional Board, Syaifuddin Syahrudi, said that South Sulawesi's economy depends on the agricultural sector. South Sulawesi is also one of the largest rice producers and suppliers to several regions.

"As a major rice producer, we believe the logistics sector potential in South Sulawesi will continue to rise. The logistics formula is that when the economy improves and population increases, logistics automatically rises," said Syaifuddin during ILFA South and West Sulawesi Region VII Conference in Makassar on Thursday (17/4).

SI recorded South Sulawesi's rice production in 2024 reached 2.76 million tonnes. South Sulawesi is the largest rice supplier after East Java (5.35 million tonnes), Central Java (5.11 million tonnes), and West Java (4.98 million tonnes).

Agriculture and livestock represent the largest business sector contributing to South Sulawesi's GRDP at Rp152.05 trillion (21.8%). However, this business sector only recorded 4.07% growth last year.

Two major subsectors, namely food crops, only grew by 2.63%, while plantation crops grew by 1.79%. Rapid growth was recorded in the horticultural crops’ subsector at 9.59% and the livestock subsector at 55.63%. 

Throughout this year until early April, rice harvest areas in South Sulawesi reached 123,397 hectares of paddy fields across 12 regencies/cities, including Maros, Bone, Pangkajene and Islands (Pangkep), East Luwu, Sidenreng Rappang (Sidrap), Takalar, Bantaeng, Luwu, North Luwu, Jeneponto, Pinrang, and Palopo City. This year's performance is claimed to be better because of El Nino storms the previous year.

Beyond meeting its own needs, South Sulawesi has supplied its rice to other regions such as the Greater Jakarta Area, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Maluku, and Papua.

ILFA National Chairperson, Akbar Djohan, added that South Sulawesi plays a strategic role as the gateway for national supply chain strength in eastern Indonesia. The strong agricultural sector in this region provides additional leverage to continue driving logistics industry performance both regionally and nationally.

"This region is well-known for its food self-sufficiency, which can provide certainty in logistics services, including pricing and delivery times. This will certainly play a major role in reducing the logistics cost gap between Java and eastern Indonesia," he said.

Akbar also hopes South Sulawesi can capture opportunities from various government programmes such as the 3 Million Homes Programme, 2 Million Homes in Villages and Coastal Areas Programme, Free Nutritious Meals, and energy and food security programmes.

Separately, PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Persero) or Pelindo Regional 4 recorded container volume in eastern Indonesia, covering parts of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua, increased by 2.04% to 619,874 TEUs in the first quarter of 2025.

Division Head of Operational Services at Pelindo Regional 4, Yusida M. Palesang, said this growth was driven by export-import activities of leading commodities, such as palm oil, cocoa, and marine products, as well as domestic logistics growth.

"This achievement is the result of Pelindo's efforts to boost service efficiency and increase productivity across all managed ports," said Yusida on Monday (21/4). 

Executive Director of Pelindo Regional 4, Abdul Azis, added that they continue to focus on service optimisation, digitalisation acceleration, and logistics connectivity improvement in eastern Indonesia.

To ensure continued growth in container flow, Pelindo Regional 4 will strengthen collaboration with stakeholders, local governments, and business players to create a more competitive and sustainable logistics ecosystem. The company will also accelerate infrastructure and human resources development to ensure reliable, safe, and competitive services.

"We are committed to strengthening the ports' role as trade facilitators and regional economic growth drivers," stated Abdul Azis.

Yodi Nalendra, the newly elected Chairman of ILFA South and West Sulawesi Regional Board at the Region VII Conference, emphasised strengthening digitalisation in South Sulawesi's logistics flow to create added value and make services more measurable.

"Digitalisation also functions to optimise various logistics aspects, such as inventory, transport management, and shipment tracking. This must be optimised in South Sulawesi so that goods and businesses have added value," he explained.

Yodi added that to ensure technology does not diminish the human role, they will establish ILFA Institute aimed at developing more professional logistics human resources.

At this institution, logistics practitioners will be trained in managing the modern logistics sector with a more humanistic approach. "We believe humans will not be replaced by technology or AI."

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