Pepper not so hot but locals see shiny future in tin
Antara, Pangkal Pinang, Bangka-Belitung
Known as the biggest producer of white pepper in the world for centuries, business on Bangka-Belitung island is now far from fiery as locals instead pin their hopes on tin.
Some 70 to 80 percent of the world's white pepper supply comes from the province. A trademark variety, Muntok White Pepper (MWP), is renowned the world over.
From corner to corner, the island is planted full of pepper fields, which have contributed much to the welfare of the Bangka- Belitung people.
It is not surprising to see large houses full of modern gadgets sitting in traditional villages -- they are monuments to the success of white pepper, called sahang locally.
However, prices for the spice are no longer hot, and the glory days of pepper seem to be over. Selling at a paltry Rp 17,000 (US$1.80) a kilogram in October, the price has plummeted from about Rp 100,000 a kilogram a few years ago.
The low price means farmers have started looking for alternatives and have found them in tin; with a little help from the government. After state miner PT Timah streamlined its operations, the local administration has assisted smaller private miners to set up business.
With a price reaching Rp 35,000 per kilogram, farmers are now flocking to mine tin, leaving pepper farms on the island neglected or turning them into mining sites.
"It's a waste to cultivate pepper now because the price is not proportional to maintenance costs," said Hambali, a pepper farmer from the Air Bara area.
With start-up working capital of only Rp 15 million a tin mine unit, it is not long before miners reach break-even point.
"I'd rather open a tin mine. The returns are quick, especially now when the cost of living and the children's education fees get increasingly higher," said Ismail Muridan, a farmer in Toboali, South Bangka, who has grown pepper for more than 20 years.
The move to tin is quickly reducing the size of pepper plantations in the province and production figures this year are expected to be significantly lower.
In 2002, pepper was planted in over 63,000 hectares of land, but a year later the area had dropped 5 percent to just over 60,000 hectares.
Total pepper production also dropped 3.4 percent to 31,556 tons last year from 32,611 tons in 2002, the province's Plantation Office chief, Hutamarrasyid, said.
In order to keep the island's traditional industry alive, local government officials have floated the idea of establishing a regulatory body to govern the price and supply of pepper.
The idea was seriously discussed a few months ago but no action has yet been taken; as farmers wait, hoping the plan won't be sneezed at by the new administration.