Fruitfest promotes local fare

Fruitfest promotes local fare

CILEUNGSI, Bogor (JP): PT Mekar Unggul Sari, which manages a
264-hectare orchard in Cileungsi, will launch today a week-long
fruitfest at the park.

A fruit market, a seminar on environment regreening, an
auction of potted fruit trees and a panel discussion -- titled
The Development of National Fruits: Challenges and Prospects --
are among the planned activities.

The fruitfest is held in conjunction with the commemoration of
the firm's second anniversary today and World Food Day, Siti
Hutami Endang Adiningsih, known as Mamiek, the president of PT
Mekar Unggul Sari, said Saturday.

Dwi Ayu, a corporate secretary from Mekar Unggul Sari, said
yesterday that the fruit fair, which will start today and run
until Sunday, will have fruit traders from many regions
throughout the country offering a plethora of choices for
visitors.

She said that Minister of Agriculture Sjarifuddin Baharsjah is
scheduled to open the fruit festivities on Friday, which will
feature specific fruits from the country's 27 provinces.

"Fruit traders from the provinces, who participated in a
similar event to mark the firm's first anniversary, have
expressed a willingness to take part in this event," she said.

The highlight of the week-long event will be the auction of
fruit trees on Friday, Dwi said.

"More people, including those who took part in last year's
auction, will join the sell-off," she said.

The price of a potted fruit tree can reach Rp 100,000
(US$28.57), far more than an ordinary tree seedling, which sells
for only Rp 6,000 to Rp 10,000, she said.

The festival's entertainment lineup will include performances
by orphans from the Islamic Village, a marching band, and fruit
cone and juice-making demonstrations.

Mamiek, the youngest daughter of President Soeharto, said that
the orchard had attracted about 1.7 million domestic and foreign
visitors.

"The Mekarsari orchard, which was established with the aim of
improving the image of local fruits and creating a horticulture
biodiversity preservation center, has a fruit tree collection,
which includes 45 families, 150 species and 450 varieties," she
said.

In conjunction with the government's program to raise the
production of fruit and the quality of the seedlings, the
Mekarsari orchard has conducted extensive research, particularly
on horticulture plants, in close cooperation with farmers, she
said.

Mamiek said that to improve services to visitors, the orchard
had been equipped with several facilities, including the Dewi Sri
theater, vegetable gardens, water tourism and fruit and seedling
kiosks.

Mamiek reiterated the importance of an orchard to help improve
the quality of local produce and enable farmers to compete with
fruit imports, which have flooded both the capital and other
major cities. (hhr)