Jakarta - The surge in coffee prices on the world market could not be utilized by Indonesian coffee farmers to boost export volumes. Because, domestic coffee production is even down.

Director of Exports of Agricultural and Forestry Products, Ministry of Trade, Yamanah AC stated that Indonesian coffee exports are down because production has also decreased due to delayed harvests due to the effects of climate change. ""Even though currently the price is rising,"" he said in Jakarta, Tuesday.

According to data from the Ministry of Trade, coffee exports in the January-April 2010 period decreased compared to January-April 2009. According to the ministry's data, the volume of coffee exports during the January-April 2010 period was only 83,903,334 kilograms, lower than the same period in 2009 of 106,385,484 kilograms.

The value of coffee exports during the January-April 2010 period amounted to USS 158.6 million, lower than the value of coffee exports in the same period of 2009 which reached USS 199.8 million.
In this regard, the Executive Secretary of the Indonesian Coffee Exporters Association (AEK1), Rachim Kar-tabrata, said that the decline in export value in the January-April period was due to the small stock of coffee in 2009.

""Coffee stocks in 2009 were almost sold out because in that year coffee prices were high, reaching 2.2 dollars per kilogram,"" he said. Rachim added that the value of coffee exports in 2009 could reach USS 700 million.

Seeing the condition of coffee export performance in the first quarter of 2010 which declined compared to the same period in 2009, he is pessimistic that the achievement of 2010 export value can match the performance in 2009 because now coffee is difficult to find, if there is also an expensive price.

Rachim said the disruption in coffee supply occurred because the coffee harvest was disrupted by climate change. That factor also makes him unable to predict when the supply of coffee in the country will return to normal.

But he hopes that the value of coffee exports this year can at least reach USS 500 million.

Furthermore, Rachim explained, the price of robusta coffee in the international market has increased since last week from 1.4 dollars per kilogram to USS 1.6 per kilogram.

The price of arabica coffee, he added, reached twice the price of robusta coffee, which is 3.2 dollars per kilogram. ""Arabica coffee produced in Indonesia is special Arabica whose price is 30% higher than ordinary Arabica,"" he said. (kun)