Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita revealed, black pepper from East Lampung will become a ready-to-export commodity and one of the backbones of Indonesia's foreign exchange. This is in line with the Foreign Exchange Village program held by the Indonesian Export Financing Agency (LPEI) and the Ministry of Industry. "Lampung Black Pepper is a potential export commodity because of its spicy taste and aroma that other regions do not have, and it has a good reputation in the domestic and international markets," he said in a statement, Sunday (26/6/2022). He further said that assistance in the Foreign Exchange Village is expected to boost exports and sustainable foreign exchange earnings in areas whose products are indeed leading export commodities.
The Director General of IKMA at the Ministry of Industry, Reni Yanita, explained that the prospect of Indonesia's pepper commodity is quite large with the development of the food industry and the consumption of people who use pepper as a food seasoning as raw material. Based on the 2021 plantation balance released by the Directorate General of Plantations of the Ministry of Agriculture, pepper exports reached 39,961 tons. “Lampung black pepper is known in the world market as Lampung black pepper. The demand for black pepper in the international market is also increasing," said Reni. Meanwhile, LPEI Executive Director Rijani Tirtoso explained, the Foreign Exchange Village program is a community or community development-based program that has superior products or commodities that are export-oriented.
"So that later the community can contribute to increasing foreign exchange in a sustainable manner. Such as Lampung black pepper which has a distinctive taste and aroma and has been certified for geographical indications since 2016 because it has a good reputation in national and international markets," he said. He revealed, the Foreign Exchange Village program provides new hope and impetus for SMEs processing black pepper to increase exports and bring local products around the world as part of their support for the Indonesia Spice Up The World program. "The East Lampung Black Pepper Foreign Exchange Village is another local product that is worldwide," he said.
