Do not use the term 'local fruit'

Do not use the term 'local fruit'

We believe the use of the term "local" for domestic fruit, as
can often be read in newspapers, is wrong in terms of language
and fact. Newspapers often refer to domestic fruit sold in
Jakarta as "local fruit", to contrast them with imported fruit.
In fact, we know these fruit do not come from Jakarta but from
North Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra, Lampung, West Java, Central
Java, East Java, South Sulawesi and so forth.

The word "local" means "belonging to a particular place or
district", so it is wrong to say that fruit which comes from
various places far away from Jakarta are "local". The word
"local" also has an unfavorable connotation as it may be
construed as being inferior. Remember: indigenous people, local
people; inlander (in Dutch).

To promote the image and status of domestic products,
particularly fruit and vegetables, we would like to call on
everybody concerned:
* Not to use the word "local" for domestic fruit. Just write down
the names of the fruits, e.g. bananas, oranges, pineapples,
melons, mangosteens. We know that certain oranges are Indonesian
oranges even if the word "local" is not used. So "local" in this
respect is superfluous.
* To use the words "imported fruit" when the fruit is imported.
* Mention the name of the region a particular fruit comes from.
For example, Palembang pineapples, West Kalimantan oranges,
Bengkulu mangosteens, Palembang lanseh fruit and so forth.

We believe that as respectable citizens of the Republic of
Indonesia, editors and journalists have a strong desire to
promote the image of Indonesian products and will never aspire to
lower their dignity.

It is to be noted that many domestic fruits are of very high
quality. Some of them are better than, if not as good as,
imported fruit in terms of quality.

DR. SUMARNO

Director General

of Horticultural Products

Development

Ministry of Agriculture