Quality and Volume Low

Kompas/Wisnu Widiantoro

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo listens to a question from a coffee merchant in the Ngopi Bareng President (Coffee with the President) event on the back terrace of the Bogor Palace in West Java on Sunday (1/10). The event was attended by coffee stakeholders from various regions across Indonesia and featured discussions on the potential and challenges of the coffee industry.

JOMBANG, KOMPAS – The quality and volume of around 80 percent of domestic coffee products remain low. The condition is due to the minimum government training provided to coffee farmers.

Coffee and Cacao Research Center (Puslitkoka) researcher Djoko Soemarno said on Sunday (1/10) in Jombang, East Java, that domestic coffee production was currently under threat. In terms of productivity, Indonesia produced less than 1 ton of coffee beans per hectare per year. Vietnam, which had developed coffee only in the past 20 years, could produce more than 2 tons.

Due to low productivity that does not match growing demands, Djoko predicted that by 2030, Indonesia could no longer export coffee because it would have to fulfill domestic demands instead. “By 2040, Indonesia would become a coffee importer,” he said during the Coffee for Earth event in Wonosalam, Jombang.

Another issue is the low quality of processed coffee products. Djoko said from 500,000 tons of domestic production per year, about 70 percent came from the coffee production centers in southern Sumatra, such as South Sumatra, Bengkulu and parts of Lampung.

Aside from southern Sumatra, a similar condition was seen in other areas. He estimated only 20 percent of all coffee production in Indonesia was of good quality.

In South Sumatra and Bengkulu, Djoko said, farmers used to store coffee berries in bags for days, which made the berries rot. Many others dried the coffee beans on the floor or on the ground. The farmers also did not follow good roasting practices.

Djoko said the without serious effort in guiding farmers, Indonesia’s position as one of the main coffee producers in the world would continue to decline.

In Wonosalam, coffee farmers have never met the government’s guidance coaches. Wonosalam coffee farmer Karsiyem said they could not sell coffee at markets, as the transportation cost was higher than the selling price.

Industry Ministry director general for small and medium industries Gati Wibawaningsih said during the closing of the International Coffee Day in Lampung on Sunday that more domestic and foreign consumers enjoyed Indonesian coffee. But coffee production was marked with issues such as low productivity and poor business management that had not helped improve the farmers’ welfare.

Based on Industry Ministry data, Indonesia brought in US$427.89 million in coffee exports in 2016, a 19 percent increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, national coffee production last year was more than 639,000 tons, but at the same time,$78.71 million of coffee was imported. This was a 22 percent decrease compared to 2015.

KOMPAS/VINA OKTAVIA

Coffee Tour participants from several countries join the field visit to a coffee plantation model in Negeri Agung village, Talang Padang district, Tanggamus regency, Lampung on Saturday (30/9). The visit to the plantation model, managed by PT Nestle Indonesia and local farmers, was part of the International Coffee Day commemoration on Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Bandar Lampung.

Opportunity

The coffee issue was also discussed at Bogor Palace on Sunday. Indonesian coffee has found global recognition. However, farmers generally did not understand how to produce, process and sell coffee to get good prices. That was one issue that was broached during the meeting of President Joko Widodo and coffee business players at Bogor Palace on International Coffee Day. The dialog was organized jointly by the presidential staff’s office and the Creative Economy Agency.

Learning from the variety of coffee in Indonesia and the coffee business, the President sees a great opportunity in this commodity.

In addition, farmers on the slopes of Temanggung’s Mount Sindoro and Wonosobo’s Mount Sumbing in Central Java are committed to continue growing coffee under the “multicultural agriculture” scheme, meaning the farmers use the same lands to grow different crops.

(ITA/EGI/IKI/VIO/INA)