Govt facilitates first Tangkuban Parahu Arabica export to Saudi Arabia

  The West Bandung District Government in West Java has successfully facilitated the inaugural export of Mount Tangkuban Parahu Arabica coffee from Lembang Sub-district to Saudi Arabia.

The development of this local coffee variant was a collaborative effort involvin enterprise (MSME), local farmers, Bank Indonesia, the local customs office, and the West Java Provig the regional government, a local micro, small, and mediumncial Government.

Deputy Head of West Bandung District Asep Ismail stated here on Monday that the commodity was cultivated by the Arjuna Farmer Group under the brand Tona’s Coffee.

He noted that this achievement marks the first step for West Bandung coffee to expand its market globally.

"They aim to commence exports to Japan next year," Ismail added.

Manager of Tona’s Coffee and a local young farmer Dikdik Ramdaniansyah revealed that their Mount Tangkuban Parahu Arabica coffee captured the interest of buyers in Riyadh after his team sent five samples utilizing various processing methods.

"Initially, we sent five samples of fermented coffee. The buyers eventually selected the pineapple-fermented coffee," he explained.

The first shipment consisted of four tons of green coffee beans fermented with pineapples, generating a transaction value of approximately Rp800 million (US$45,070).

Ramdaniansyah said that the initial demand from the Saudi buyers was 25 tons. However, his team could only provide four tons for the first shipment due to limited production capacity and raw material availability.

He emphasized that the rising demand from the Saudi market presents a significant opportunity for Lembang coffee farmers to scale up their production.

Currently, Tona’s Coffee sources around 50 tons of coffee from farmers in Cibodas Village, though this volume will be insufficient if export demands continue to grow.

"Our primary obstacle in the production process is the availability of raw materials, particularly coffee cherries," Ramdaniansyah pointed out. To address this, Tona’s Coffee aims to double or triple its production capacity, with projected raw material requirements exceeding 100 tons.

B2B Specialist of Tona’s Coffee Adil Wijayakusumah added that securing independent export capabilities was the culmination of a rigorous three-year process to meet international standards.

"It was certainly not easy, but this marks the starting point for Lembang farmers' coffee to penetrate the international market," he concluded.