Danger Looms Over Indonesia's Coffee Industry  

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - With 30 percent of coffee plants in Indonesia reaching 20 to 30 years of age, the country's national productivity of coffee may experience a 50 percent drop.

Indonesia has an important role in supporting all lines of coffee production across the globe. In the past five years, Indonesia has been the third largest producer of coffee after Brazil and Vietnam. Meanwhile, based on the United States Department of Agriculture's records, Indonesia's is the fourth largest coffee exporter after Brazil, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Based on the data of the Directorate General of Plantations at the Agriculture Ministry, coffee production in 2011 has reached 709,000 tons, which comprised of 554,000 tons of Robusta, and 155,000 tons of Arabica coffee. Meanwhile, the volume of coffee seed export in Indonesia in 2013 has reached around 446,000 tons.

Meanwhile, based on data collected from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the Association of Indonesian Coffee Exporters (AEKI) stated that the value of coffee seed export in 2012 has reached US$1,25 billion.

Unfortunately, behind these amazing statistics, the production of coffee in Indonesia is currently in danger due to many aging coffee plants. This could be considered as a time bomb that can overturn Indonesia's position as one of the largest coffee exporters in the world to becoming an importer of coffee seeds.

Data from the Agriculture Ministry revealed that the area of coffee plantations in Indonesia only has a annual expansion rate of 0.02 percent.

EVIETA FADJAR