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New platform launched in Indonesia for sustainable spice exports to EU
A new platform that promises more sustainable and better ways to produce and distribute Indonesian spices was introduced by Netherlands-based global foundation IDH-Sustainable Trade Initiative.
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Photo of blooming nutmeg (JP/Arief Suhardiman)
A
new platform that promises more sustainable and better ways to produce and distribute Indonesian spices was introduced on Thursday by Netherlands-based global foundation IDH-Sustainable Trade Initiative, which brings together companies and governments to drive new sustainable production and trade models in emerging economies.
Previously, two similar local platforms to increase the volume and value of spice exports was introduced in India and Vietnam.
The Indonesian platform, called Sustainable Spices Initiative Indonesia (SSI Indonesia), aims to boost spice agriculture and distribution with strategic collaboration among stakeholders, especially for the European market, which accounts for 34 percent of global spice imports.
“We expect that this platform to encourage more initiatives that will contribute to [growth] in the food and agriculture sector [...],” Mushdhalifah Machmud, undersecretary for food and agriculture at the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister, said at the launch event last week, expressing the ministry’s support for the initiative.
“[This] is especially aimed at empowering small-scale farmers and improve access to market, which will have a positive impact on farmers and the environment.”
Mushdhalifah said global demand for spices had been rising during the COVID-19 pandemic, most probably because many people had turned to the herbs and spices for their supposed properties to strengthen the immune system and keep diseases at bay. The market prospect was worth keeping an eye on, she said.
Indonesia exported spices worth US$218 million from January to April 2020, which marked a 19.28 percent increase from the same period in 2019, according to data from the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister. Indonesia is one of the biggest spice exporters to the European Union, besides China, India and Brazil.
