Kadin encourages RI to become a global coffee trading center, Minister of Trade: We are trying to take an approach

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) encourages the Republic of Indonesia as a center for trading and determining the price of coffee.

Even though it ranks third in the world's coffee producers, the trading center and price-setting for the commodity is still dominated by Western countries, especially the United Kingdom.

"Indonesia is the third largest coffee producer in the world after Brazil and Colombia. We have arabica, robusta to civet coffee. However, the coffee trading center has been centered in the UK," said Anindya in a written statement, Tuesday, January 13.

So, how did the government respond to this?

The Minister of Trade (Mendag) Budi Santoso said that the government would make a number of efforts so that Indonesia could become a center or hub for the world's coffee.

"His office, right, is now in England if I'm not mistaken. Yesterday the reason was us, right, the manufacturer. We will try to approach so that (it can) become a center, become a coffee hub, yes," said Budi after attending the inauguration of the Asian Trade, Tourism, and Economics Council (ATTEC) office in Jakarta, Monday, January 19.

When asked about the possibility of setting coffee prices in Indonesia, Budi said that this would still be studied further because it concerned the market mechanism that had been running for years.

According to Budi, the government needs to see the right concept with international associations and representatives of coffee producing and consuming countries.

"Later, if it can be the headquarters here. At least we can recruit or work together with other international associations, which have representatives in each country to convey what the concept will be like," he said.

Budi assessed that the move to relocate the world coffee pricing center cannot be done instantly.

For the initial stage, he continued, the government will focus on approaching through various international coffee forums.

He hopes that these efforts can strengthen Indonesia's position in the global coffee industry value chain as well as increase the competitiveness of national coffee in the global market.

"So coffee from Indonesia is increasingly known in other countries. Because there are (many) types of coffee in Indonesia and we are also a large coffee producer," he concluded.