VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Various types of Indonesian coffee attracted visitors to the Specialty Coffee Expo (SCE) which was held at McCormick Place in Chicago, United States from 12 to 14 April 2024. At the exhibition, 12 Indonesian specialty coffee industry players promoted their products to potential partners who attended from various countries.

The Indonesian Pavilion was opened with remarks from the Indonesian Consul General in Chicago, Listyowati, Chargé d'Affaires Ad Interim of the Indonesian Embassy in Washington DC, Sade Bimantara, and Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia, Filianingsih Tjahjono.

Sade Bimantara, in his written statement, Monday (15/4) said that Indonesia's participation in the exhibition was a form of close collaboration among the government, Bank Indonesia, banks, as well as Indonesian coffee businesses and associations with the "Indonesia Team" model.

Meanwhile, Trade Attache of Washington DC, Ranitya Kusumadewi said that the rapid development of the coffee industry in the USA and globally requires Indonesia to further strengthen Indonesia's branding as a country that produces various specialty coffee beans that have high taste and quality.

Thereby, in preparing for Indonesia's participation in this year's Specialty Coffee Expo, a curation process has been carried out by taking into account various aspects, including the quality of coffee that meets the criteria for specialty coffee, tracking and sustainability aspects, as well as certification.

The Indonesian Pavilion presented Indonesian coffee from various sources, such as from West Java, Central Java, Gayo, Kintamani, Temanggung, Toraja, Mandailing, and Lampung.

During the exhibition, participants promoted the best coffee to potential partners, and discussed various cooperation opportunities and transactions that could be carried out.

Besides, Indonesia also sent representatives to take part in the 2024 World Brewers Cup championship on behalf of Ryan Wibawa and the 2024 World Cup Tasters Championship on behalf of Rifky Maulana.

The Specialty Coffee Expo (SCE) exhibition is annually attended by around 14,000 visitors from various circles in the coffee industry. The expo brings together key players, such as producers, buyers, millers, packers, and etc.

The Government of Bima City, West Nusa Tenggara will hold Rimpu Mantika Festival in Bima City on April 25 to 27. This festival highlights Rimpu, the local traditional hijab of Bima. Rimpu has begun to be worn or used by women of the Bbojo tribe or ethnic group since the 17th century.

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno, in his statement, expressed his hope that the Rimpu Mantika Festival would become a stage for the promotion of increasingly creative and innovative Tourism, Creative Economy and Fashion industries.

According to Sandiaga, Rimpu Weaving is not just cloth, but also a symbol of the rich culture and creativity of the Bima people. Through the Rimpu Mantika Festival, it is hoped that the creative industry, especially in the traditional weaving sector, will develop rapidly.

On the first and second days of Rimpu Mantika Festival there will be an opening event featuring traditional dances, competitions, announcement of winners of competition and musical performances.

On the peak day of the event there will be traditional dances and attractions as well as the colossal rimpu dance performed by students in Bima City.

The Rimpu Mantika Festival will also feature a traditional clothing parade and weaving exhibition.

This festival will also be a place for artists and creative industry players to collaborate and exchange ideas.

Various workshops and seminars will also be held during the festival, to support increasing skills and knowledge in the creative industry.

Indonesian Ambassador to Egypt, Lutfi Rauf  pointed out Indonesian coffee products have succeeded in dominating the Egyptian market with an export value of US$ 92.96 million or 1.46 trillion rupiah in 2023.  Ambassador Lutfi conveyed the export value includes 42, 69 percent of the coffee market share in Egypt  which makes Indonesia the largest coffee exporting country to Egypt from all over the world.  Ambassador  Lutfi in his  statement in Jakarta on  Tuesday (16/4) affirmed that it indicates  Indonesian coffee products are loved by consumers in Egypt.  According to Lutfi,  its distinctive aroma and taste are the main factors in attracting the interest of Egyptian consumers.

Moreover, Ambassador Lutfi  explained his party as the representative of the Indonesian government in Egypt always maintains and strengthens partnership relations among Indonesian coffee business actors and Egyptian coffee business players. The growing demand for coffee in Egypt particularly robusta coffee beans, makes Egypt a very potential market for Indonesian exporters. According to Lutfi,  this cannot be separated from the contribution of coffee commodity buyers from Egypt,  Al Amal for Agricultural Crops who continue to strive to increase the volume of imports of Indonesian robusta coffee beans to the Egyptian market.

Ambassador Lutfi hopes that  cooperation in the field of trade will be continuously  established and developed.  If there are challenges,  everything can be communicated well for the welfare and prosperity of the people of both countries.  Trade Attache of the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo, M. Syahran Bhakti explained Egypt is one of the countries that has a very high demand for coffee.  Indonesia's main competitor country in exporting coffee products to Egypt is Vietnam with an export value of US$ 48.07 million or 760 billion rupiah.  The export value is equivalent to 22. 21 percent of the total market share in Egypt.  Besides Vietnam,  there is Brazil with an export value of US$ 21.47 million  or 339 billion rupiah.  The export value is equivalent to 9.92 percent of the market share in Egypt. Syahran  further said  Egypt is the second largest market for Indonesian coffee exports to the global market after the United States.

Students of the Ship System Engineering Department at Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) joined the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) 2024 Education Week. After competing with thousands of other people registering, Samuel Zagota was successful to be part of 100 students from across the globe joining the international conference. IPTC is an international oil and gas conference held in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia on February 10-15. With the theme Shaping the Future of Energy, the conference focuses on explaining to students about the oil and gas industry.

Samuel Zagota explained that all participants were given the opportunity to visit world-class oil and gas company research institute Dhahran Techno Valley (DTV). Zagota explained if 100 participants from 33 countries were divided into 14 groups to finish case study challenges. In the case study, the participants were challenged to give ideas to improve oil and gas production by drilling new wells based on existing geology data. In finishing the case study, Zagota cooperated with six other participants coming from Mexico, Argentina, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and Azerbaijan.

Thanks to good cooperation, Zagota and team were successful in analyzing proper locations to drill new oil wells. Followed by students with various backgrounds like Chemical Engineering, Geology, Geophysics, Oil, and Machinery, Zagota revealed that he was the only one with a maritime background. Nevertheless, his experience in oil and gas organization at campus and competitions helped Zagota in discussing the issues with other participants.