{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1683605,
        "msgid": "once-dumped-as-waste-durian-chocolate-and-coconut-now-sought-after-by-china-1776412294",
        "date": "2026-04-17 14:00:00",
        "title": "Once Dumped as Waste, Durian, Chocolate, and Coconut Now Sought After by China",
        "author": "Hilda B Alexander",
        "source": "KOMPAS",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Agriculture",
        "summary": "Indonesia's Minister of Transmigration, M Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara, has highlighted the need for human resource development and education in transmigration areas to support integrated export commodity development from upstream to downstream processes. He cited examples like durian, chocolate, and coconut, which were once abundant but lacked markets in past transmigration models, leading to waste, but are now in high demand internationally, particularly from China. This integrated approach, involving local governments and addressing standards and technology, is crucial for economic sustainability in these regions and preventing disruptions in production chains.",
        "content": "<p>Minister of Transmigration (Mentrans) M Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara\nhas revealed the reasons for strengthening human resources (HR) and\neducation in transmigration areas. Iftitah explained that HR\nstrengthening is necessary to support the comprehensive development of\nexport commodities from upstream to downstream. \u201cThere are many\ncommodities that can be exported besides durian, for example chocolate.\nWhen we visited West Sulawesi, there was significant chocolate\npotential,\u201d said Iftitah in response to Kompas.com after the export\nlaunch in Palu, Central Sulawesi, on Thursday (16\/4\/2026). He emphasised\nthat commodity development must be carried out in an integrated manner,\nfrom seedlings to products reaching the international market. \u201cThis\nbusiness must be end-to-end. Industrialisation and downstreaming must\nrun from upstream to downstream,\u201d he said. According to Iftitah, the\nMinistry of Transmigration (Kementrans) encourages the involvement of\nlocal governments in the entire production chain, from planting,\nmaintenance, harvesting, to downstream processing, quarantine, and\nexport. \u201cIf even one link in this chain is broken, the entire process\nwill be disrupted,\u201d he stated. Iftitah also gave the example of mango\ncommodities, which to this day have not been able to penetrate the\nJapanese market widely despite long-standing demand, partly due to\nstandard and pest constraints. According to him, the standards of the\ntarget market should be applied from the early production stage so that\nthe harvest meets export needs. In fact, transmigration areas have two\nmain strengths, namely the availability of land and labour. However, to\nsupport economic development, additional factors such as investment,\ntechnology, and skilled labour are needed. The Democrat Party politician\nalso recounted times when harvests were abundant in past transmigration\nmodels. However, they could not be absorbed by the market due to the\nlack of an integrated distribution system. \u201cThere was an incident where\ndurian was so abundant that it was almost used as balls because there\nwas no market,\u201d he said. In addition, Iftitah mentioned that\ninternational market demand for Indonesian commodities is quite high,\nincluding from China, which is interested in durian and coconut, both in\nfresh and processed forms. \u201cIf there is no economic activity, people\nwill not stay in transmigration areas,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/once-dumped-as-waste-durian-chocolate-and-coconut-now-sought-after-by-china-1776412294",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}