“We continue to conduct bilateral diplomacy with the export destination countries, I try so hard to change India’s policy towards the export of Indonesia areca nuts,” said Trade Minister Zulhas.
Heaptalk, Jakarta – Jambi Province managed to export its local products, including areca nut, copra, and rubber for the first time to Mexico, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India. For this measure, Indonesia’s Trade Minister Zulkifli ‘Zulhas’ Hasan delivered his appreciation to the stakeholders for their success in penetrating new markets and enhancing the national GDP.
“I personally come to Jambi to deliver my great appreciation to the local Governor and the Regent for their contribution to generating surplus for 40 months consecutively. Jambi is one of the top contributors. In 2022, the national’s trade balance has a surplus of Rp900 trillion,” conveyed Minister Zulhas in the export release.
In his opening speech, Zulhas conveyed that this export is the collaboration between MSEs and private sectors which signals a great synergy between the region’s business players to reach a global market. He hopes that this action can be a momentum to drive the market expansion for Indonesian products. He also congratulates the companies and to Jambi’s Governor Al Haris for their contribution to promoting export.
In more detail, Zulhas explained, “The export value for rubber that is carried out by PT Kirana Windu attained US$ 80 thousand, followed by CV Rayeez Agro Albasith for exporting copra of USD24,79 thousand to Pakistan, PT Blantika Indo Global for exporting areca nut fronds to India worth USD 14.3 thousand, and PT Agro Future Indonesia for exporting areca nut seed to Bangladesh worth USD16.97 thousand.”
He delivered that areca nut is one of Indonesia’s excellent commodities in the international market and the country is the 5th largest producer with a total production of 215,000 metric tones in 2021. Around 14 provinces in Indonesia, including Jambi, North Sumatra, and Aceh with a total area of 152 thousand hectares are suitable for the cultivation of this plant.
Meanwhile, the country still encounter several challenges, including the implementation of minimum import price (MPI) in India, high import duties in India, Iran, and UAE, and the absence of recognition certification from the export destination countries.
“To handle these challenges, we continue to conduct bilateral diplomacy with the export destination countries, I try so hard to change India’s policy towards the export of Indonesia areca nuts. I have visited India five times to fight for Jambi, making the local agricultural product can be well-received in India,” concluded Zulhas.
