Our Fruits Become Our Identity

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Pineapple that has been picked is transferred to a transport truck to be brought to the factory from the plantation of PT Great Giant Pinneapple (GGP), Central Lampung, Lampung, Wednesday (16/6/2021). Pineapple occupies the first position for national fruit exports.

A nation is always looking for its identity. A strong identity will increasingly unite the people and provide economic benefits. Fruits are frequently used as that identity.

Pride as a nation arises because of the existence of fruits that get the right and proper place. Costa Rica is known as the land of bananas. New Zealand is famous for its kiwi fruit. They always promote and present fruits as their source of national pride on various occasions.

Various local fruits should be loved by the community or exported to international markets so that they can become Indonesian identities. The potential is great. Improvement of the fruit business ecosystem from upstream to downstream needs to be done continuously.

Also read:

> Nonintegrated Fruit Farms Pose Obstacle

> New Era for Banana Farmers in Tanggamus

Fruit export opportunities are still promising. Indonesia is currently exporting, among other fruits, mangoes, bananas, mangosteen and pineapples to several countries, with export objectives to China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, when opening the 2021 Nusantara Fruit event online on Monday (9/8/2021), said that to be able to enter the international market, nusantara (Archipelago) fruits must be increasingly competitive, both in terms of price and quality.

The price must be competitive, the taste maintained, the supply sustainable, the production continuous and the packaging attractive. To enable nusantara fruits to reach the export market, their business ecosystem needs to be arranged from upstream to downstream. Fruit farmers are assisted by information and the latest knowledge to increase productivity. Access to capital is made easier and strengthened.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Mango, a tropical fruit that is one of the fruits of the archipelago

The President\'s hope is simple. We also understand the problem in the fruit ecosystem. It appears that we have not moved from a problem that has been known for a long time, nor are we trying to find a solution. Fruit production is one thing; another thing is packaging, transporting and marketing it.

Fruit production cannot rely on small-scale farming. Farmers must unite and have land on an economical scale. In this way, handling and transporting is easier and simpler. Unfortunately, fruit centers have begun to disappear. This situation has made post-harvest handling inefficient.

Improvements in the infrastructure sector at present are expected to support the delivery of agricultural commodities, including fruits. We hope that fruit distribution can run efficiently and fast so that fruit marketing can enter new markets far from the production centers.

Also read:

> Growing Fruit Trees, Conserving Nature

With regard to the desire to make fruits an export commodity and at the same time an Indonesian identity, old constraints, such as the various types of quality, need to be resolved. The market certainly wants commodities to have a consistent quality.

To turn fruits into a national identity, we need a way to make the chosen fruit suitable as a characteristic of the Indonesian nation. This fruit must be available in the export market and have advantages over other fruits. We still need to work hard to bring our natural wealth to the world stage.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.