Indonesia Plans to More than Double Their Coffee Export Value, up to $5.5 Billion – CoffeeTalk

Indonesia’s Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman announced ambitious plans to more than double the nation’s coffee export value to Rp 100 trillion (approximately $5.5 billion) in the long term. This initiative focuses on enhancing productivity, incorporating high-yield seedlings, and fortifying the coffee industry from the farm level. The target was shared during a visit to a coffee seedling center in Bener Meriah, Aceh, where Amran highlighted the international acclaim of Gayo coffee. He recounted a conversation with former US President Bill Clinton, illustrating Gayo coffee’s global recognition and importance.

To support this goal, the government has initiated a coffee development program spanning around 17,000 hectares in Aceh, which includes the distribution of 17 million coffee seedlings. Currently, coffee exports amount to Rp 40 trillion, but Amran emphasized that substantial potential exists to increase this figure significantly. The recent rise in coffee prices, reaching approximately Rp 110,000 per kilogram (up from around Rp 50,000), presents an opportunity to enhance farmers’ incomes.

The government’s strategy includes improving production and marketing systems, ensuring that coffee growers retain a larger portion of the commodity’s overall value. Furthermore, Amran stated that Indonesia is strengthening its national export system to bolster the country’s bargaining power in global markets. The overarching goal is for Indonesia to evolve beyond mere supplier of raw agricultural products, aiming instead to influence prices for key exports, particularly coffee. Amran concluded that enhancing the value captured by commodities should ultimately benefit farmers, the nation, and improve overall welfare.

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