The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) continues to strive to increase agricultural product exports. One of the focuses is to encourage young farmers to penetrate the international market. This step is in accordance with the direction of the Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Andi Amran Sulaiman, namely not only to increase the competitiveness of Indonesian agricultural products, but also aims to expand the market share of local products, improve farmer welfare, and create jobs in rural areas.One of them, the Nira Lestari Parent Cooperative chaired by Ella Rizki as the Young Ambassador Agriculture Program YESS, successfully released palm sugar exports to the destination countries of Malaysia and Canada on Thursday, March 20th, 2025, in Girimulyo, Kokap, Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta.
Head of the Agricultural Extension and Human Resources Development Agency (BPPSDMP), Idha Widi Arsanti said, in this export release, 20 tons of palm sugar were exported to Canada with a value of IDR 800 million, while 2 other tons were sent to Malaysia with a value of IDR 300 million. "Indonesia has a national coconut area of 3.2 million hectares, with 38,724 hectares of which are in D.I. Yogyakarta, which contributes 50,605 tons of coconut production," said Idha. Downstreaming coconut into derivative products, such as palm sugar, has provided significant added value for farmers and the community. The selling price of palm sugar which ranges from IDR 30,000 to IDR 50,000 per kilogram reflects the great economic potential of coconut processing. It is hoped that this palm sugar export will be the first step to introduce Indonesian agricultural products to the international market. Farmers and business actors are expected to continue to innovate and commit to maintaining product quality, in order to maintain Indonesia's position as a leading exporter of agricultural products, especially coconut and its processed products.
