VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

North Sulawesi Province exported some 13 tons of nutmeg valued at US$62,400 to the United States (US) in early June 2019.

"In spite of the holidays, we must prioritize and focus on export activities to avoid disappointing any buyers," Head of Foreign Trade of North Sumatra's Industry and Trade Agency, Darwin Muksin, noted in Manado, North Sulawesi,  on Monday.

Muksin remarked that the exports of 13 tons of nutmeg to the US had contributed to the country's foreign exchange.

He pointed out that the province solely exported nutmeg of high quality.

"Nutmeg in demand among buyers from the US is the Siau variety that has proven to be of above-average quality than other types," he elaborated.

In addition to the US, North Sulawesi's nutmeg and mace products are highly sought after in the Netherlands and some other European Union nations owing to its distinct taste and varied uses, including for seasoning.

Hence, Muksin has encouraged local farmers to boost nutmeg production to capitalize on the opportunity to export the commodity to nations worldwide.

North Sulawesi's nutmeg is not only popular in Europe, the United States, and Asia but has also succeeded in attracting African markets.

"The rising demand for exporting nutmeg and mace to various countries in the world is a testament to the good quality of nutmeg products from the province," he pointed out.

Muksin added that North Sulawesi's nutmeg sold to European, American, and African markets are from the districts of Sitaro Islands, Sangihe, and Talaud.  

The Indonesia Stock Exchange's Composite Stock Price Index on Monday strengthened after the lengthy holidays of Eid al-Fitr 1440 Hijri.

The Composite Stock Price Index opened 68.18 points higher, or 1.1 percent, to 6,277.29, while the index of the 45 leading stocks, or LQ45, inched up 17.47 points, or 1.78 percent, to 1,000.35

Head of Research at Valbury Sekuritas Alfiansyah remarked here on Monday that transactions on the stock exchange after the long Eid Al-Fitr holidays ended had yet to fully normalize.

"However, the Composite Stock Price Index has a likelihood of strengthening in stock trading this week, backed by domestic factors and also positive external factors," Alfiansyah noted.

Community consumption during the month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr is expected to drive public consumption and impact prices in May and June. The Central Agency of Statistics will release inflation data for May 2019 this afternoon.

"The inflation data presented by the agency will be a 'warning' for the government in adopting price-control measures," Alfiansyah remarked.

Externally, trade disputes have raised worries over protracted battles and potentially hinder global economic growth. US President Donald Trump remarked that talks with China were going well, though a senior Chinese diplomat was quick to counter his statement by affirming that provocations in trade disputes were open economic terrorism.

"The ambiguity surrounding the trade war has rocked global investors," Alfiansyah pointed out.

Among the Asian regional stock exchanges this morning, the Nikkei index strengthened 207.31 points, or 0.99 percent, to 21,092.02; the Hang Seng index increased 406.48 points, or 1.51 percent, to 27,371.76; and the Straits Times index declined 22.1 points, 0.7 percent, to 3,188.39. (ant) 

The Indonesian coffee booth is again a magnet at the international coffee exhibition or World of Coffee 2019 held in Berlin, Germany, from June 6 to 8, 2019.

On the first day of the event, the Indonesian booth which was one of those from 24 countries that participated in the exhibition was crowded by visitors, said an Indonesian diplomat in charge of information and socio-cutural affairs at the Indonesian Embassy in Berlin, Hannan Hadi, to Antara in Jakarta on Sunday.

The Indonesian coffee was not only introduced by giving product samples but also offering visitors and coffee lovers to enjoy the aroma and coffee from the archipelago.

The Indonesian Deputy of Mission to Germany, Perry Pada, said he was optimistic that this exhibition would sharpen the competitive edge of the Indonesian coffee on the international market. "From the comments and responses of the visitors to the Indonesian booth, we believe that the number of people who are interested in the Indonesian coffee will increase.. "I even observed that there were several transactions and negotiations that had been discussed with the visiting buyers," Perry said.

The high interest and demand for the Indonesian coffee offer both an opportunity and a challenge. The challenge is how to meet the demand and maintain its quality, he said.

"Domestic demand is also high. We see more Indonesian baristas now. Both domestic consumption and demand for exports are equally important. For this reason, we need to keep encouraging coffee farmers and entrepreneurs," said Perry.

In the exhibition, Indonesia introduced the advantages of Indonesian coffee, especially Arabica coffee. Coffee producing companies Rumah Kayu, and Crop and Roast brought two coffee producers, namely the Indonesian Coffee Farmers Association (APEKI) from Bandung, West Java, and Aurelia Da’Gabo Flores from East Nusa Tenggara..

However, the coffee introduced at the coffee exhibition was not only from Bandung and Flores, but also from Toraja (South Sulawsei) and East Java. Besides the original taste, there are also floral flavors, fruity, caramel, and blueberries.

Chairperson of APEKI's West Bandung chapter, Kurnia Danumiharja who led the Indonesian participants was delighted by the big number of visitors to the Indonesian coffee booth. It turned out that our coffee has a unique character, not only in terms of the taste but also the aroma. The diverse characters of coffee are influenced by the characters of Indonesia's soils that are rich and different, Kurnia said.

World of Coffee 2019 in Berlin brought together more than 300 exhibitors and was attended by around 10,000 visitors. Besides Indonesia, various coffee-producing countries such as Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Japan and China also participated in the exhibition.

In this event, visitors can chat with coffee experts about the taste of coffee and experience, expertise and motivation for processing and developing the coffee business. World of Coffee was previously held in various major cities in Europe, including Amsterdam, Budapest, Dublin, Rimini, and Maastricht.

In the past six years, the organization of World of Coffee has developed into the largest coffee exhibition in Europe. Initially attended by 3,000 visitors, followed by around 45 exhibitors, today the number has increased rapidly to 11,000 visitors, followed by more than 200 participants.

Various activities of World of Coffee are also enlivened with various interactive activities, such as world coffee championships, cupping coffee, seminars and business meetings. (ant) 

Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said the Group of Twenty (G20) forum is making every effort to ease trade war tensions that have the potential to disrupt the performance of global trade.

"We hope for the de-escalation of trade war tensions," he said on the sidelines of the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Digital Trade and Economy held in Tsukuba, Japan, on Sunday.

The effort is necessary to prevent the global trade growth from declining further as projected by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The WTO has projected the global trade will only grow 2.6 percent this year compared to 4.0 percent in 2017 and 3.6 percent in 2018.