Governor: Government to Soon Build Gambir Processing Factory in West Sumatra

Padang (ANTARA) - West Sumatra Governor Mahyeldi stated that the government will soon build a gambir processing factory in the province as part of downstream industrialisation efforts. “The latest development I received is that the Minister of Agriculture has decided to build a gambir processing factory in West Sumatra,” said Mahyeldi in Padang on Thursday. The factory will be directly managed by PT Perkebunan Nusantara IV. It is likely that the processing plant for the crop scientifically known as Uncaria rhynchophylla will be built in Limapuluh Kota Regency. This is reasonable considering that Limapuluh Kota and South Pesisir Regencies are the main contributors of gambir in the Minangkabau region. In fact, on a global scale, around 80% of the world’s gambir needs are supplied from Indonesia, particularly West Sumatra. So far, West Sumatra has routinely exported gambir to South Asia, especially to India and Pakistan. Over the past two years, the trend in gambir exports has shown an increase. In 2024, gambir exports reached 13,482 tonnes with a value of Rp574.7 billion, up from 11,865 tonnes in 2023. Regarding the declining gambir prices, the governor noted that this is not unrelated to global geopolitical conditions, exacerbated by conflicts in the Middle East region. Previously, Limapuluh Kota Regent Safni expressed surprise at the price of Minangkabau-origin gambir extract reaching US$10, or about Rp160,000 per kilogram, during a working visit to India at the end of 2025. This amount is starkly higher compared to the selling price received by farmers, which is Rp40,000 per kilogram. In fact, all the gambir extract processed in India comes from West Sumatra Province, particularly from Limapuluh Kota and South Pesisir Regencies. Additional information: besides being exported to India, West Sumatra has also successfully downstreamed gambir, one example being the production of ink for the 2024 elections initiated by Andalas University in collaboration with a local company. For the 2024 General Elections and Regional Elections, Andalas University successfully distributed one million bottles of ink made from gambir plants. Besides to 35 provinces in the country, this ink was also used for voters abroad.