PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - The Wanoja Coffee Farmers Group, West Java exported coffee directly to Saudi Arabia, Thursday (22/2/2024).

Exports of 7 tons of Arabica coffee beans produced by the West Java Wanoja Farmers Group were worth US$72,705 or around Rp. 1.4 billion.

Taking place at Megarama Taka Hydrocore Gedebage, Bandung City, the export release was attended by representatives of the West Java Cooperatives and Small Business (KUK) Service, Plh. Head of the West Java Province Bank Indonesia Representative, Head of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, West Java Regional Office, Head of the National Standardization Agency (BSN) West Java Regional Office and OPD in the West Java Province and Bandung Regency.

This is a special achievement for West Java Wanoja Coffee, which for the first time succeeded in exporting independently, as well as making the Wanoja Farmers Group an aggregator for West Java coffee exports.

Head of the Small Business Division of the West Java KUK Service, Ucup Yusuf, said that the release of Wanoja coffee exports to Saudi Arabia marked the quality of West Java coffee being increasingly recognized worldwide.

West Java, which is one of the largest coffee producers in Indonesia, also contributes to coffee export achievements, which in 2022 will rank 13th in the world with a market share reaching 2.5 percent of total world coffee exports.

This achievement is the result of the synergy and collaboration of the West Java Provincial Government with Bank Indonesia and other related stakeholders who have given their best commitment through empowering the real sector of the coffee cluster.

"Of course, this synergy and collaboration will continue to be strengthened in order to encourage both coffee and other commodities to be exported in order to improve the welfare of farmers and support sustainable economic growth in West Java," said Ucup Yusuf.

Pls. Head of Representative of Bank Indonesia for West Java Province, Bambang Pramono, appreciated the steps taken by the Wanoja Farmers Group in successfully carrying out exports independently.

This export activity is an important step to accelerate West Java's economic growth which was recorded at 5 percent or slightly below the national level of 5.05 percent.

In line with the high export share of 55.55 percent, this coffee export achievement is believed to be able to become a source of economic growth in West Java.

"Bank Indonesia supports the development of the West Java coffee cluster, also carrying out various programs to strengthen the upstream coffee cluster, including technical assistance for cultivation training, use of MA-11 fertilizer, Q-Grader and use of Ceritech technology," said Bambang Pramono.

Apart from that, Bank Indonesia also supports the development of downstream coffee commodities through business matching financing and marketing, facilitating SNI certification and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and expanding domestic and foreign markets through trade promotion events.

Through this upstream-downstream cluster development program, it has been recorded as successful in supporting the expansion of the West Java coffee market to various countries in Asia, Australia, Europe and America. In the end, these various efforts helped encourage West Java's economic growth.

In the future, it is hoped that the success of Wanoja coffee can inspire and create other successful export MSMEs to encourage economic growth while alleviating poverty in West Java.

Chair of the Wanoja Coffee Farmers Group, Eti Sumiati, said that previously coffee exports were carried out through exporters, but with guidance from Bank Indonesia and the West Java Provincial Government, the farmer group was able to export directly.

"Previously, we sent 2 to 3 tons to other countries, but now we can send 7 tons directly to Saudi Arabia," said Eti.

According to Eti, the Wanoja Coffee Farmers Group gained a coffee market abroad after participating in several exhibitions abroad at the initiation of BI and the West Java Provincial Government.