TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia logged a significant increase in its exports of indoor decorative plants compared to the previous year as the Indonesia Eximbank (IEB) Institute reported a 69.7 percent growth from January - September of 2021.

As one of the many global producers and exporters of decorative plants, Indonesia’s export in the aforementioned period reached US$10.77. Demands for these plants spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic after many people were forced to mostly spend their time indoors.

“Even though Indonesia saw a drop in export performance in 2020, the global community gradually became active again and positively affected Indonesia’s decorative plant exports,” said the Indonesia Eximbank (IEB) Institute Head of Export Financing Rini Satriani on December 29.

Japan remains to be the top export destination with a 32.23 percent market share, followed by Singapore with 15.55 percent, the United States with 13.12 percent, the Netherlands with 13.03 percent, and China with 5.60 percent.

Mosses are the most popular exported commodity from Indonesia to Japan. The plant is believed to have health benefits aside from its nutritional value. Meanwhile, products such as cut flowers and grafted plants dominated the trade between Indonesia and Singapore.

Historically, the global flower and plant products trade experience a rise ahead of important commemorations or national holidays.

Read: November Export Grows, Statistics Indonesia Reports

CAESAR AKBAR