Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi stated that Indonesia continually strives to become the world’s food producer, including for shallots.
Adi noted that shallots, as one of the commodities exported by Indonesia to Malaysia and other countries, have a high potential for Indonesia to meet the global needs.
“The hope is that Indonesia can become the world’s food producer,” he remarked at an international seminar on food security in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday.
He explained that food exports are conducted when domestic food needs have been fulfilled through domestic production.
“We continue to encourage food commodities, whose production is in surplus in the country, to be able to expand and meet the needs of the international market,” he noted in a Bapanas statement received here.
Adi further remarked that making Indonesia the world’s food producer aligns with President-elect Prabowo Subianto’s commitment to realizing food self-sufficiency.
He highlighted that based on the Ministry of Agriculture’s data for the 2019-2023 period, Indonesia as a shallot exporter ranked 33rd globally. The average export value for 2019-2023 reached US$9.46 million annually.
“This is an impressive increase of 44.87 percent as compared to the 2017-2021 period when Indonesia was still ranked 35th, with an average (export value) of US$6.53 million per year,” he explained.
Furthermore, based on the national food balance projection by Bapanas, Indonesia is a shallot-producing country, with an annual production of 1.35 million tons.
“Meanwhile, the domestic consumption needs per year are 1.16 million tons. It means there is still a surplus of around 186 thousand tons,” he remarked.
He noted that in 2023, shallot was the biggest contributor to vegetable production, with a share of 13.59 percent.
To this end, shallots are deemed a horticulture commodity with export potential, especially to Southeast Asian countries.
Thailand is a Southeast Asian country that receives the most shallot exports from Indonesia, reaching six thousand tons, with a transaction value reaching US$8 million in 2023.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s shallot exports to Malaysia continued to experience progressive escalation. In 2021, the quantity was still at 59.6 tons, which then continued to increase to 612.8 tons in 2023.