Indonesia, Thailand Cooperate in Fruit Post-Harvest Research

Menteri Riset Teknologi dan Perguruan Tinggi (Menristekdikti) Mohamad Nasir menyampaikan arahan saat Rapat Kerja Nasional (Rakernas) di Gedung Graha Sabha Pramana, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), DI Yogyakarta, Senin (30/1). (ANTARA FOTO/Hendra Nurdiy

Badung (Antara Bali) - Indonesia and Thailand is working together to develop postharvest technology for fruits.

"Thai's fruits are widely known in the world. They have a postharvest technology that makes fruits remain fresh long while being shipped," Deputy of Agro Industry and Biotechnology at Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), Eniya Listian, said here, Thursday.

In the cooperation both countries choose mango for the early stages of research, because this tropical fruit has many varieties and is often being a complementary food at various events.

"Mango is also favored by people in various countries, such as the famous Filipino mango in Japan although it tastes sour. Indonesia should be able to export mangoes to many countries," she said.

Thailand, she added, has sulfurization technology using sulfur dioxide that makes mangoes durable in transit travel to other places.

The assessment agency is currenty developing fruit coating technology with special compounds of honey with wax content, she said.

At the ASEAN and Japan Science and Technology Community Forum, Director General for Research and Development at the Ministry of Research and Technology, M. Dimyati Markum, said since 2016, 43 percent of the research and development budget in Indonesia comes from the industry. (WDY)