{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1904068,
        "msgid": "koster-admits-balinese-garlic-loses-out-to-chinese-imports-1786009869",
        "date": "2026-08-06 15:47:59",
        "title": "Koster Admits Balinese Garlic Loses Out to Chinese Imports",
        "author": "",
        "source": "DETIK_BALI",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Agriculture",
        "summary": "Bali Governor Wayan Koster has acknowledged that locally grown garlic is struggling to compete with cheaper Chinese imports, leading to a decline in production. Despite praising the superior aroma and taste of Balinese garlic, he noted that consumers prefer the larger, more affordable imported bulbs. Koster has instructed the provincial agriculture agency to expand local planting areas and plans to eventually ban garlic imports once domestic supply is sufficient.",
        "content": "<p>Local Balinese garlic is losing out to cheaper imported garlic from\nChina, making the domestic product less attractive to the market and\ncausing a decline in production on the Island of the Gods.<\/p>\n<p>This was revealed by Bali Governor Wayan Koster during a speech at\nthe inauguration of the Bali Regional Board of the Indonesian Export\nCompanies Association (GPEI) for the 2026-2031 term at The Kranjang,\nKuta, Badung, on Thursday (6\/8\/2026).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBali is in surplus for everything except garlic. Except garlic. So\nhere in Bali, we have a garlic deficit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Koster admitted he had previously questioned the Head of the\nAgriculture Agency about the cause of declining garlic production in\nBali. Initially, he suspected the soil conditions in Bali were\nunsuitable for growing garlic.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Agriculture Agency head explained that the cause was not\nland-related. He said local garlic cannot compete with Chinese imports,\nwhich are more popular in the market.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo here, the imported Chinese garlic with the large cloves, that is\nwhat sells,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Koster explained that Chinese garlic has larger cloves compared to\nBalinese garlic, or suna Bali, which is smaller in size.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, after comparing the two directly, he assessed that the\nquality of Balinese garlic is actually better. According to him, the\nlocal garlic has a stronger aroma and taste.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBalinese garlic has small cloves, Chinese garlic is large, but if\nyou try it, the Chinese garlic is bland. Balinese garlic is pungent. So\nit is delicious for cooking,\u201d he revealed.<\/p>\n<p>Despite having a better taste, people still choose imported garlic\nbecause it is cheaper.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt turns out that because imported garlic is cheap, that is what our\npeople buy in the markets. As a result, Balinese garlic does not sell\nwell, and consequently our farmers do not want to plant it,\u201d he\nexplained.<\/p>\n<p>Koster has asked the Agriculture Agency to immediately open up land\nto increase garlic production in Bali. Once local production is\nsufficient, he plans to restrict the entry of imported garlic into\nBali.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLater, once they have harvested, we will create a regulation, no\nimported garlic will be allowed to enter Bali,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/koster-admits-balinese-garlic-loses-out-to-chinese-imports-1786009869",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}