West Papua to open export route to Pacific countries

 18 April 2019   

 Papua province plans to open an export route for the 13 million people in 14 Pacific countries for agricultural products such as Wamena coffee, Governor Lukas Enembe has said.

He said he welcomed the central government initiative to push economic growth in the province’s agricultural sector. Enembe made the comment in response to a visit from the Agricultural Ministry’s head of agricultural produce quarantine body, Ali Jamil.

“Papua has to be the gateway to ASEAN and Pacific countries,” he said on Monday.

The governor said Pacific countries needed economic cooperation with Papua, but the province had yet to have adequate facilities for direct exports like infrastructure and permit and customs procedures. Export through air cargo was possible, but not via road or sea.

“The President has approved of the plan. But the Transportation Ministry has yet to give its approval. We have to push it to accelerate exports from Papua,” he said.

On his visit to Papua New Guinea, he said the country exported rice to Australia and Pacific countries at twice the price of rice produced in Merauke, Papua.

This year Papua has chiefly exported logs and rice. Logs were sent to China while 50 tons of rice were sent to Papua New Guinea. He expressed hope that the province could export more commodities.

Ali of the Agricultural Ministry said the acceleration of agricultural exports was the responsibility of the ministry. For example, the ministry has supported the export of some variants of lime through Semarang.

“We helped to facilitate the permits, customs and other needs to make the exports happen. We can do this for Papua,” he said.

One of the commodities the province championed was Wamena coffee, grown on 1,910 hectares of land in Jayawijaya regency, spread across 24 districts including Walesi, Kurulu, Hubertus and Pyramid. The province says Wamena coffee has a distinct flavor that is fit for export. In 2017, the province produced 125.8 tons of the coffee.

Other championed commodities are vanilla and flour.

Papua's exports mostly rely on oil, gas and minerals.

Statistics Indonesia's (BPS) Papua chapter said the region's March exports saw a 265.17 percent increase from the previous month.

"Papua recorded $178.84 million worth of exports in March, a 265.17 percent increase from the $48.98 million seen in the previous month," BPS Papua chapter distribution statistics head Bambang Ponco Aji said on Tuesday in Jayapura, Papua, as quoted by Antara.

According to Bambang, nonoil and gas exports contributed $178.84 million, while oil and gas exports contributed $437 last month.

Copper ore and concentrate exports increased 314.78 percent to $171.44 million last month from $41.33 million the previous month.

Meanwhile, wood and wooden craft exports decreased 37.08 percent to $4.68 million in March from $7.44 million in February.

Other categories of nonoil and gas exports increased to $2.72 million last month from $200,000 the previous month.

Bambang added that no exports were recorded from fisheries.

Papua's exports to its six main destinations saw a 294.36 percent increase to $175.14 million last month from $44.41 million in February, he said.

He said 95.87 percent of the province's exports were shipped from Amamapare Port in Mimika regency, Papua. Exports through the port were valued at US$171.46 million.