Bad News From Eastern Indonesia, South Sulawesi Agricultural Product Exports Drop 56 Percent

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Industry and Trade Office of South Sulawesi released that exports of agricultural products from the region decreased by 56 percent in 2021.

Disperindag noted that in the period January to May 2020 the value of agricultural export products reached 34.8 million United States (US) dollars. Meanwhile, in the same period in 2021 it fell sharply, only at 15 million US dollars.

"The decline was very drastic, perhaps because the harvest season was not good, so that exports of agricultural products fell by 56.86 percent," said Head of Domestic Trade Development of the South Sulawesi Industry and Trade Agency I Dewa Nyoman Mahendrajaya in Makassar, quoted from Antara, Wednesday, June 30.

The drastic decline can also be seen from the export volume of agricultural products in 2021 which will reach 67.70 percent. Exports of agricultural products from South Sulawesi sent in January-May 2020 were 21,180 tons, while this year it was only at 6,840 tons in the same period.

Hendra said that the production of cocoa and coffee as the main commodities of South Sulawesi began to decline. Especially in the last 10 years, cocoa has continued to decline, even though in 2012, cocoa had been the prima donna among agricultural products in South Sulawesi.

"Maybe because the season or the weather is also not good, even though in 2012, we sent cocoa up to 250 thousand tons," he said.

If there is a decline in exports for agricultural products, this is not the case in the fisheries sector. Exports of agricultural products in 2021 from January to May increased by 17.41 percent, although previously fishery products or marine products had contracted 0.70 percent during the 2020 pandemic.

"The commodity we send out the most is seaweed, because there are many and many requests," he said.