Sumatran highland coffee has long been known by Indonesian coffee connoisseurs for its distinctive taste. One that is now popular and worldwide is Kopi Sipirok, a coffee brand from South Tapanuli. The journey of Sipirok Coffee, which refers to the name of the capital city of South Tapanuli Regency, started with the initiative of local farmers through the Sipirok Maju Jaya Coffee Farmers Group. Taking advantage of the momentum of the growing coffee trend in the country, this farmer group then created the MJ Coffee trading business under the Sipirok Coffee brand. The head of MJ Coffee, Nanang, recounted the long journey of their business which eventually received the support of the PT PLN (Persero) Social and Environmental Responsibility (TJSL) program. The moment that increased MJ Coffee's ability to enter the international market and managed to increase their production by up to five times. “We are very grateful to PLN, this assistance is really useful in increasing our coffee production. We have also succeeded in creating jobs for the people around our business. We are trying to continue to increase the amount of production to export Sipirok Coffee to the international market," said Nanang.

He recalled the various obstacles he experienced when he was just starting a business. Included in the technique of drying coffee beans in the middle of the rainy season and eroded plantation soil conditions. With the support and assistance of PLN through Rumah BUMN Padang Sidempuan, this farmer group is equipped with production equipment, modern management training for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, and digital marketing, as well as various other supports, one of which is the construction of a green house. The construction of this green house by Nanang is said to overcome one of their biggest obstacles, namely the drying of coffee beans. As a result, the productivity of the farmer groups increased with the ability to dry coffee beans up to 1 ton per month, five times the previous capacity of 200 kg per month which was managed traditionally. The increase in Sipirok Coffee productivity is of course directly proportional to the increase in MJ Coffee's income by up to three times from the previous IDR 30 million to IDR 95 million. Nanang explained, their participation in various exhibitions supported by PLN helped expand their customer reach to the global market. It is noted that currently the Sipirok coffee beans produced by MJ Coffee have succeeded in penetrating the international market. Throughout 2022, MJ Coffee recorded that it had succeeded in exporting 500 kilograms of green bean coffee to Singapore and 1.5 tons of green bean coffee to Malaysia. Quality improvement and market development are also continuously carried out by utilizing the market place. Going forward, to expand into the sharia market share, MJ Coffee is also preparing halal certification for six of its flagship coffee products. PLN's North Sumatra Main Distribution Unit General Manager, Tonny Bellamy, said that PLN does not only provide assistance to MSME actors to increase production. According to him, PLN will also measure the impact of the assistance that has been given to community development. Tonny explained, geographically, South Tapanuli Regency has an area of 6,030.47 km2, which is a mountainous area with an altitude of 1,200 meters above sea level. According to him, the geographical conditions of this region make the taste of coffee from the highlands of Sumatra very popular, not only in Indonesia but also abroad. He also hopes that with PLN's support, Sipirok Coffee can bring blessings to regional economic development. According to him, this is in line with PLN's commitment to implementing the principles of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) which create sustainable economic development and have a positive impact on society.

Source: https://metrodaily.jawapos.com/economy/06/12/2022/kopi-sipirok-tembus-pasar-singapura-dan-malaysia/