Minister urges coffee consumption to stabilize price<\/p>\n
SURABAYA, East Java (JP): The minister of agriculture,
\nSjarifudin Baharsjah, called yesterday for a campaign promoting
\ndrinking coffee.<\/p>\n
The minister said an increase in domestic coffee consumption
\nwas needed to stabilize local coffee prices.<\/p>\n
\"One way to stabilize the price is by selling more coffee
\ndomestically,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said unstable prices were largely because of coffee
\nsuppliers being too dependent on international markets and this
\nreally hurt local coffee farmers.<\/p>\n
The president director of Aneka Coffee, Jeffry Sanusi
\nSoedargo, said coffee consumption in Indonesia was only 0.8
\nkilograms a person a year, compared with average consumption in
\ndeveloped countries of between four to five kilograms a person a
\nyear and Scandinavian countries where the average was 12
\nkilograms a person a year.<\/p>\n
Sjarifuddin said with their rising incomes, Indonesians should
\nbe consuming 1.6 kilograms of coffee a year.<\/p>\n
He called on domestic coffee distributors to learn from
\nJapan's distributors who successfully promoted coffee drinking in
\na tea-drinking society.<\/p>\n
The minister was speaking at the opening of Aneka Coffee's new
\nplant in Sidoarjo.<\/p>\n
Aneka Coffee is 65 percent owned by Prasidha Aneka Niaga, 20
\npercent by Japanese trading house Itochu, 10 percent by PT
\nCitrabuana Tunggal Perkasa and 5 percent by Japan's UCC Ueshima
\nCoffee Co. Ltd.<\/p>\n
Prasidha Aneka Niaga which listed on the Surabaya and Jakarta
\nStock Exchanges in 1994 is Indonesia's biggest processor and
\nexporter of food and plantation commodities.<\/p>\n
The US$23 million plant covering 30,000 hectares has a
\ndesignated production capacity of 2,400 tons of ground coffee a
\nyear and 3,600 tons of instant coffee a year, making it one of
\nthe biggest coffee plants in South East Asia.<\/p>\n
Eighty percent of the instant coffee and 20 percent of the
\nground coffee will be exported to Europe, Japan and America.<\/p>\n
\"We are also eying China's market as one with big potential,\"
\nJeffry said.<\/p>\n
Prasidha Aneka Niaga exported 100,000 tons of coffee last year
\n-- a quarter of the total country's export of 400,000 tons -- all
\nof which from farmers. Prasidha and Itochu planned to open 600
\nhectares of coffee estate in Bengkulu this year to produce high
\nquality coffee.<\/p>\n
Mansjur, who is also head of the Association of Indonesian
\nCoffee Exporters' promotion office, said the country's coffee
\noutput was likely to fall 15 percent in April's harvest. Heavy
\nrains and strong winds hindered the second flowering of trees in
\ncoffee producing areas late last year.<\/p>\n
Last week International commodity bourses were hit by rumors
\nthat Indonesia's coffee output might fall up to 40 percent.<\/p>\n
Prasidha Aneka Niaga said it would soon sign two joint
\nventures with overseas commodity sector firms.<\/p>\n
It will set up a joint venture with Itochu Corp to make crumb
\nrubber for export.<\/p>\n
Prasidha said it would own 51 percent of the venture, with
\nItochu controlling 49 percent.<\/p>\n
It also plans to set up a joint venture with Burns, Philp and
\nCo to source, process, grind, package, market and export pepper.
\n(jsk\/nur)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/minister-urges-coffee-consumption-to-stabilize-price-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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