The Ministry of Industry supports the fruit processing industry players to expand their export market. This is because the fruit processing industry has a significant contribution to the manufacturing sector, especially the agro industry. In 2021, the export value of the horticultural processing industry, which includes the fruit processing industry, will reach USD 383 million. This value increased by 22.79% compared to the previous year of USD 312 million. “Several fruit processing industries have been export-oriented since their inception. In fact, in 2021 the export value of the agro industry will reach USD 64.55 billion, of which the fruit processing industry will also contribute," said the Director General of Agro Industry at the Ministry of Industry, Putu Juli Ardika in his statement, Sunday (27/2).
Currently, in Indonesia, there are six small and medium-scale fruit processing industries, with a total production capacity of 5,500 tons per year. Meanwhile, in the downstream sector, there are 41 companies with a total production capacity of 430,000 tons per year. The Director General of Agro Industry said that the domestic fruit processing industry is believed to have been able to meet the demands of foreign markets, especially in terms of quality. One company that deserves appreciation is PT Fruit Ing Indonesia because it has expanded its market to several export destination countries such as Spain, the United States, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. “Some time ago, we had a working visit to PT Fruit Ing Indonesia in Gresik, East Java. We saw firsthand the production process there was quite good, with the standards and technology used. We also appreciate that this company is able to penetrate the market from well-known countries with strict requirements," he explained.
In production, according to Putu, the domestic fruit processing industry in general has partnered with farmer groups or local fruit cooperatives to obtain the raw materials. Partnership is a form of domestic industry's efforts to reduce dependence on imports of raw materials, increase the use and added value of local resources and play a role in improving the welfare of the community and farmers. "We from the government encourage the domestic fruit processing industry to establish partnerships with local farmers to improve farmers' welfare and support import substitution programs," said Putu. Managing Director of PT Fruit Ing Indonesia, Iwan Winardi said that in addition to producing end products, his company also produces intermediate products which are the raw materials for the downstream industry in the form of fruit puree, dried fruit, and individual quick frozen (IQF) food.
The intermediate product of fruit processing has great development opportunities. With a large volume of fresh fruit production, it can be processed into intermediate products to meet the needs of the downstream sector in order to reduce imports. The potential of domestic fruits with very large production quantities that need to be processed more optimally, among others, bananas with a total production of 7.2 million tons per year, mango (2.6 million tons), Siamese oranges (2.4 million tons), pineapple ( 1.8 million tons), and papaya (887 thousand tons).
