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View all search resultsUS demanding RI spices despite contamination concerns, govt says
An official with the Cs-137 task force says the country is ready meet a request from a US spice association to resume clove exports to meet local holiday demand amid the FDA's elevated import requirements for Indonesian spices and shrimp.
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Farmers carry a single-rail bamboo ladder for picking cloves in Ranakolong village, Kota Komba, East Manggarai, in this file photo from 2017. (JP/Markus Makur)
T
he United States spice industry has urged Indonesia to resume clove exports ahead of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season, according to an official with the Office of the Coordinating Food Minister, even as the country seeks to reassure buyers that its products are safe despite recent concerns of contamination with Cesium-137 (Cs-137).
Expert staffer Bara Khrisna Hasibuan, who also serves as head of public policy on the Cesium-137 task force, said the American Spice Trade Association (ASTA) had made a “strong request” for fresh shipments of Indonesian spices, as US warehouses had begun running low on clove.
“ASTA came to Jakarta around three weeks ago and asked that supplies continue,” Bara said on Wednesday, as quoted by Kontan.co.id.
“There is no issue with meeting that demand. Indonesia still has plenty of spice sources outside East Java and Lampung, such as Sulawesi and Maluku. We want to accelerate the process so exports can resume quickly and help meet the high US demand,” he added.
The shortage follows an import disruption after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert in late September, announcing that it had detected traces of the radioactive isotope Cs-137 in clove shipments from Indonesia.
Read also: 248 tonnes of radioactive contaminated material moved into Serang estate
The country is one of the world’s largest producers of clove and nutmeg and supplies major markets across Europe and North America. The government hopes the supply crunch in the US can help restore trade momentum after months of uncertainty.
