Spice is right as Indonesian startups eye value in
vanilla
Send a link to a friend
[August 13, 2020] By
Fransiska Nangoy and Bernadette Christina
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian Sofa
Arbiyanto had a manufacturing job in South Korea two years ago when he
learned about the high price of vanilla on the global market, and
decided to try his luck at growing it.
Now he has 2,000 vanilla vines on a 1,200-sq-metre (0.3-acre) farm in
Blora, Central Java, started after he did some internet research and
joined online groups of vanilla farmers.
"My initial view that farmers live in hardship and poverty has changed,"
said the 30-year-old. "With a touch of innovation and technology, it is
a promising opportunity."
Arbiyanto is one of a growing number of millennial start-up vanilla
farmers in the southeast Asian nation, which is eager to revive spice
shipments to diversify its farm exports, now dominated by palm oil.
The interest in cultivating one of the world's most valuable spices has
sparked a small movement back to the land at a time when farmers have
been leaving for jobs in congested cities.
The Indonesian Vanilla Farmers' Association (PPVI) says 43% of the
nearly 600 farmers it has trained are aged between 25 and 35, a
demographic that is typically tech-savvy.
Many have learned farming methods from YouTube, and get tips and
guidance from experienced farmers through group chats on messaging
platforms such as WhatsApp, said Mahdalena Lubis, the association's
spokeswoman.
PPVI's YouTube channel has more than 13,000 subscribers and combined
views of its videos exceed a million, she added.
The demand is no surprise, as vanilla beans from top exporter Madagascar
were more expensive than silver last year, although prices <VAN-MG-BNS>
have since fallen from highs of about $600 a kg.
After typhoons in 2017 and 2018 in the Indian Ocean island sent prices
skyrocketing, buyers are looking for more sources of the spice, used in
anything from cakes and cookies to sauces and perfume.
Start-up Indonesian farmers are betting on the labour-intensive beans,
aware that high-quality crops can fetch them better prices, owing to the
painstaking process of pollination by hand.
STRONG POTENTIAL
Indonesia is a distant second to top producer Madagascar, which provides
80% of world supply. McCormick & Co, the world's largest spice company,
is partnering with farmers in the islands of Papua and Sulawesi to
secure its supply of Indonesian vanilla.
[to top of second column] |
Vanilla farmers Mohamad Akbar Budiman, 30, and Iton Rifa'i, 74,
check their vanilla vines at Kebon Kakek farm in Serang, Banten
province, Indonesia, July 25, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
"Although Madagascar remains the gold standard as far as vanilla quality is
concerned, Indonesia has strong potential to become an alternative origin, in
terms of quantity and quality," McCormick said in an emailed statement.
The coronavirus pandemic has boosted consumer demand for vanilla, as well as
that from packaged food companies, it added.
Aust & Hachmann, the world's oldest vanilla trader, estimated that Indonesia
would produce about 200 tonnes of beans this year, double last year's estimate.
In a bi-annual report, the trader said stay-at-home orders around the world had
benefitted vanilla, with jumps in grocery shopping and home cooking.
Despite strong demand, shipments faced delays because of virus-related
disruptions in trade, causing an annual drop of 18% for the January to May
period, Indonesian trade data showed.
But that trend is unlikely to last.
"When the new normal begins and trade activities are gradually
increased...vanilla exports will become one of the mainstays of trade that will
be expanded," said Kasan, a director-general in Indonesia's trade ministry.
But vanilla prices can be volatile, making farming a risky enterprise, Kasan,
who uses one name, cautioned.
Lubis, of the vanilla farmers' group, said ensuring quality was vital to avoid
mistakes of the kind that had led big buyers in the past to reject prematurely
picked beans, forcing many farmers to switch crops.
"In the global market, we have to be able to compete in maintaining quality to
be able to significantly increase our exports," Lubis added.
But Mohamad Akbar Budiman, 30, is undeterred as he combines work as a civil
servant in the province of Banten with an effort to revive once-abandoned
cultivation of beans in his backyard.
"Growing vanilla doesn't take much space, and it's not difficult."
(Editing by Martin Petty and Clarence Fernandez)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |