Surabaya (ANTARA) - The Trade Ministry, through Directorate General of National Export Development, will participate in Europe's largest specialty coffee international exhibition, World of Coffee (WoC) Athens 2023, at the Athens Metropolitan Expo, Athens, Greece, on June 22-24.

Director General of National Export Development of the Ministry of Trade Didi Sumedi stated that the participation aims to introduce and expand the Indonesian specialty coffee market to the international market, especially in the European region.

"It is hoped that this international coffee promotion program will be able to target a wider coffee market, especially in the European region and its surroundings," he noted in a written statement in Surabaya, East Java, Wednesday.

WoC is the largest international exhibition specially for coffee products and the coffee industry in Europe. This event was initiated by the Specialty Coffee Association that is held in a different country every year.

Participation in the exhibition is the result of collaboration between the Ministry of Trade and the Indonesian Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) Budapest, ITPC Milan, as well as Bank Indonesia.

The Indonesian Pavilion presented 11 selected coffee entrepreneurs from all over Indonesia: PT Sabani Internasional, PT Ihtiyeri Keti Ara, CV Java Halu, PT Bima Tikhe Berkat, PT Meukat Komuditi Gayo, Arinagata Producers Cooperative, PT Iceh Agro Indonesia, PT Commodities Source Indonesia, KBQ Baburrayan Cooperative, Koerintji Barokah Bersama Cooperative, and Ramdan Uma Coffee.

Meanwhile, Director of Primary Product Export Development Merry Maryati stated that Indonesian coffee has a unique taste according to the region where the commodity originates.

The uniqueness and authenticity of coffee products from each region can be traced through the Geographical Indication (GI) system, and currently, Indonesia is the country with the number of GIs, reaching 31, after having registered its coffee as GI.

"The unique taste of coffee that can be traced through the GI system is a tool that can be used as branding to compete in the global market, especially the European market that already knows and uses the GI system for its local products," Maryati stated.

According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), during the January-April 2023 period, the export value of Indonesian coffee products to the world was recorded at US$236 million. Meanwhile, in 2022, the exports of Indonesian coffee products to the world were valued at US$1.14 billion, increasing 34 percent as compared to the previous year.

During the 2018-2022 period, the trend of coffee exports to the world has increased by 6.79 percent per year.

During the January-April 2023 period, the exports of Indonesian coffee products to Greece were worth US$824 thousand. Meanwhile, in 2022, the exports of coffee products to Greece were valued at US$5.7 million, increasing 48.68 percent as compared to the previous year.

During the 2018-2022 period, the export trend of Indonesian coffee products to Greece had increased by an average of 17.17 percent per year.

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Translator: Maria Cicilia Galuh, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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