For thousands of years, Indonesia is known as one of the world's largest spice-producing countries. Traders from various countries even competed to come to Indonesia to find sources of spices. Typical Indonesian spices such as pepper, nutmeg, cloves, cumin, cinnamon, galangal, ginger, turmeric and so on can’t only be used as cooking spices. However, it can also be processed into various derivative products such as perfumes, cosmetics, essential oils (aromatherapy oils), and can be used as herbal medicines which are believed to cure various types of diseases. Although it had experienced its heyday, the competitiveness of Indonesian spices in the global market is currently quite low compared to other countries such as Malaysia, India, Thailand and Vietnam, which are relatively new to spices. To restore Indonesia's glory as a spice-producing country, in 2021 the government has designated December 11 as National Spice Day. As one of the concrete steps to support this, a number of business actors formed the National Spice Association (Asrenal) which accommodates business actors, both farmers, MSME players and business people engaged in the spice commodity sector and its derivatives throughout Indonesia. “In the past, Indonesia was known for its glory as a producer of spices, but now it is starting to sink. So this is what we want to revive so that the world community, especially overseas buyers, know that Indonesian spices are still available and of high quality," said the General Chairperson of the National Spice Association, Titi Yusup Masduki in a written statement in Jakarta, Wednesday (9/11/2022).
Titi said that actually there are still many buyers from abroad who are interested in Indonesian spice commodities. However, they find it difficult to directly access the purchase of spices from business actors and farmers. Departing from this, the National Spice Association collaborated with Maya Miranda Ambarsari, the business owner of PT Teknologi Cakra Internasional, to form an application such as a marketplace specifically for buying and selling spice products and their derivatives. "With this application, it will be easier for farmers, cooperatives, and spice commodity businesses to sell their products directly to buyers, both domestically and abroad without having to go through middlemen," she explained. Not only assisting in the marketing process through digital applications, the National Spice Association will also provide assistance and guidance to business actors who are members to produce quality spice products, including making attractive packaging, to managing finances in doing business. The reason is, all the products that will be traded in the application have gone through the curation process. This means that only quality products with attractive packaging can be uploaded, so this is the task of the association in providing assistance. "By improving from the upstream, this will be able to encourage the quality and competitiveness of national spices which in the end can restore the glory of Indonesian spices as well as improve the economy of spice farmers and business actors and take them to go international," she explained.
In addition to making applications, Titi said that in commemoration of National Spice Day, her party will hold a spice exhibition and expo which will be held at the Senayan City parking lot on 19 to 21 December 2022. In this expo there will also be a fashion show for the successor of spices. "The exhibitors are not only those who sell spices but also their derivative products such as cosmetics, soaps, skincare, perfumed oils, essential oils that use ingredients from spices," he explained. Maya Miranda Ambarsari positively welcomed the formation of the National Spice Association. Moreover, she views Indonesian spices as valuable treasures and ancestral heritage that must be preserved. Maya, who is also the Founder and Chairperson of the Supervisory Board of the National Spice Association, is also ready to support the development of the potential of national spices by reviving the spice route directly and through the use of digital technology. "With this association, it gives all of us an opportunity that there is already an umbrella as an umbrella that not only accommodates Indonesian spice products but also helps farmers and business actors through the use of digital technology so that they can expand market share both at home and abroad." she said. She also hopes that this association can increase the competitiveness of national spices and increase their selling value so that spices are no longer just commodities but have their own values that are more appreciated both nationally and internationally.
