West Sumatra Gambir Cooperative and ID FOOD Forge Export Partnership
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Gambir Anam Koto Mandiri Sharia Producer Cooperative from West Sumatra has entered into a partnership with the State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) Food Holding, PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (Persero), also known as ID FOOD, to explore the export of gambier products to international markets.
The collaboration was formalised through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Ministry of Cooperatives office in Jakarta on Tuesday.
This partnership targets market potential in India and Pakistan, with an estimated value of US$732,83 and a target shipment of 20 tonnes of gambier per month.
Destry Anna Sari, Deputy for Talent Development and Cooperative Competitiveness at the Ministry of Cooperatives, emphasised that the government is pushing for this cooperation to move beyond the agreement stage and into immediate business implementation. “I hope that within three months, business contract transactions occur and goods are shipped in the form of downstream products,” Destry stated in a Ministry of Cooperatives press release.
She also highlighted the primary challenges in developing cooperative exports, particularly regarding supply consistency and product quality when demand increases. According to her, the government will involve various parties to ensure international quality standards can be met, including food safety standards such as HACCP.
Furthermore, the government is encouraging the strengthening of foreign trade regulations to prevent foreign buyers from purchasing raw materials directly at the village level, which is seen as a factor that could affect price stability for farmers.
ID FOOD Commercial Director Dwi Sutoro stated that the company is committed to strengthening the export ecosystem for regional flagship commodities through its existing distribution and trade networks. He explained that there are three main pillars in building a sustainable export ecosystem: supply sustainability, quality consistency, and price competitiveness in the global market.
“Moving forward, ID FOOD will optimise its branch offices across Indonesia to act as sourcing development units in identifying regional flagship products ready for the international market,” said Dwi.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Gambir Anam Koto Mandiri Sharia Producer Cooperative, Eriyanto, noted that this partnership is a strategic step to provide market and price certainty for gambier farmers in West Sumatra. The cooperative, established in 2021, currently comprises approximately 190 gambier farmers and eight farmer groups, with a total land area of 450 hectares. Through this consolidation, the cooperative has a production capacity of approximately 30 to 50 tonnes of gambier per month.
“This MoU is an important step in strengthening gambier downstreaming and increasing product competitiveness in export markets,” he said. He added that the cooperative is committed to maintaining supply continuity and improving business governance to be more professional and transparent to support sustainable exports.
The gambier commodity has diverse benefits and product diversifications, ranging from ingredients for the food and beverage industry and raw materials for the health and pharmaceutical industries, to raw materials for the cosmetics industry, such as anti-ageing and antioxidant products.
The government notes that Indonesia supplies approximately 80 per cent of the world’s gambier market. In addition to India and Pakistan, Indonesia’s gambier export markets also include Japan, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Malaysia.