At the Startup Go Global Sharing Session held here on Tuesday, Masduki said that kratom extract alone has a selling value of USD6,000 or Rp90 million per kilogram.
Meanwhile, Indonesia, as the largest producer of kratom, exports its raw materials more rather than its processed products, he said.
With only simple technology, Indonesia can process kratom plants into kratom extracts that have higher added value, and has great market potential in Europe and the United States, he said.
"So far, India and the United States have used Indonesia's kratom. However, we only sell the raw materials," he said.
Therefore, Masduki said the ministry encourages the downstreaming of kratom, both into semi-finished and finished products for supplying the domestic pharmaceutical industry and the F&B industry.
He stated that his side would support the kratom downstreaming program through joint production houses and kratom processing centers that are managed by co-operatives.
One of the kratom processing centers is the Anugerah Bumi Hijau Producers Co-operative (Koprabuh) in Tenggarong Seberang, Kutai Kartanegara District, East Kalimantan.
Kratom is a tropical endemic plant of Southeast Asia whose leaves are traditionally used as herbs.
Based on the Trade Ministry's data, the kratom export value always experiences positive growth, with a growth trend of 15.92 percent per year since 2019.
One of Indonesia's main export destinations for kratom is the United States. In the January-May 2023 period, kratom exports to the US reached USD4.86 million or 66.30 percent of the total kratom export value.
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Translator: Shofi A, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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