Indonesian Fresh Mangoes Cannot Freely Enter Japan, Here's Why

Palu, Kompas.com - Minister of Transmigration (Mentrans) M Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara has disclosed the reasons why fresh mangoes from Indonesia have not been able to enter the Japanese market on a large scale.

Iftitah stated that Japan has actually requested supplies of fresh mangoes from Indonesia since about 20 years ago. However, to date, this market access has not been optimally utilised.

“Japan has requested fresh mangoes from Indonesia since 20 years ago, but up to now, they still cannot enter on a large scale,” he said, when responding to Kompas.com after the export dispatch in Palu, Central Sulawesi, on Thursday (16/4/2026).

He explained that the main obstacle lies in the standards issue, particularly regarding pests that do not yet meet the requirements of the destination country.

He stressed that the standards from the destination country should be extended upstream. Thus, farmers can plant in accordance with international market needs.

“The standards from the destination market should be extended upstream, so that farmers plant with appropriate standards from the beginning,” he said.

Furthermore, he emphasised that the development of export commodities must be carried out in an integrated manner from upstream to downstream.

This starts from seedling, planting, maintenance, harvesting, to quarantine and distribution processes.

It cannot be denied that this process is still running separately. Thus, it has the potential to hinder the export of Indonesian agricultural commodities to the global market.

Therefore, the government hopes that commodities like mangoes can meet international standards and expand export market access through an integration approach.