Indonesian Coffee To Help Improving National Branding

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) has assigned Indonesia as 2016 Official Portrait Country which was able to improve national branding of Indonesia as the world's top coffee producer.

"This rare opportunity could be a good momentum to improve the branding of Indonesia. Thus, coffee producer could undertake massive marketing and advertising to introduce Indonesian coffee to the international buyers," Director General of National Export Development of the Ministry of Trade, Nus Nuzulia Ishak, stated at a press conference here on Wednesday.

The trend of coffee consumption, especially in the United States, is on the rise.

With a new predicate as a portrait country at the SCAA 2016 exhibition, which will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, US, on April 14-17, Indonesia will be the main focus for more than 12 thousand visitors.

"Coffee products, which will be displayed, must meet the standards of the SCAA specialty coffee because it is really important for Indonesian coffee's branding. The government is really committed to maintain the image and quality of Indonesian coffee," Ishak said.

Through its branding of 'Remarkable Indonesian Coffee-Home of World's Finest Coffee', Indonesia would present the best specialty coffees from some coffee-producing areas, started from Aceh to Papua.

To support the branding effort, the Ministry of Trade has asked all Indonesian coffee associations to send samples of their specialty coffee produce.

The value of exported Indonesian coffee to the US in 2014 reached US$323.22 million, 11.33 percent more when compared to 2013.

During January-November 2015, the value of Indonesia's coffee export to the US reached US$1.12 billion, up by 19.4 percent compared to the same period in 2014.

The US is still ranked as the topmost export destination for Indonesian coffee with a value of US$255.76 million, and its share reaching 22.85 percent, followed by Japan with a value of US$98.2 million or 8.7 percent and Germany with a value of US$84.9 million or 7.6 percent.

According to Ishak, Indonesia must be able to utilize the SCAA event to improve its coffee exports to the US, not only in terms of volume but also in quality, including the roasted coffee.

Based International Coffee Organization's data, Indonesia ranks as the world's fourth-largest coffee producer in 2014 with an estimated production that reached 622 thousand metric tons per year.

Indonesian Arabica coffee is quite popular in the world, making Indonesia the second-largest Arabica coffee exporter in the world. Its coffee exports now run into 150 thousand tons per year.

Indonesia is also known to have the highest number of coffee variants of the nearly 100 variants created since 1699.

Some of these are well known, such as Sumatera Lintong, Sumatera Solok Minang, Java Preanger, Java Estate, Sulawesi Toraja, and Papua Wamena. (WDY)