The country`s coffee exports dropped to 447,494 tons in 2010 and further went down to 352,007 tons in 2011 from 478,025 tons in 2009, he said here on Saturday.
"The volume of coffee exports falls because production continues to decline and coffee price in the domestic market is higher than in the export market," he said.
He expressed regret over the decline in the volume of coffee exports on the ground the global demand for and the selling price of the commodity remained high.
Citing an example, he said although the volume of coffee exports in 2011 plunged the value of coffee exports in 2011 was far higher than that of 2009 and 2010.
He said coffee exports contributed US$1.064 billion to the country`s foreign exchange coffers in 2011 compared to US$801.66 million in 2009 and US$845.542 million in 2010.
To deal with the persistent shortfall in the volume of coffee exports the country must increase coffee production including expanding the area of coffee plantation and rejuvenating old coffee plants, he said.
"Don`t let Indonesia to become a coffee-importing country," he said.
He said the country`s coffee production was expected to reach 600,000 tons this year. Indonesia`s coffee production fell short of the target of 640,000 tons last year.
"It is possible the coffee production this year will drop again because of extreme weather," he said.
He admitted some exporters often imported coffee from other coffee-producing countries like Brazil and Vietnam when coffee supplies were tight and coffee price in the domestic market was higher than in the export market.
They usually imported coffee to meet the working contract they had signed, he said.
Head of the North Sumatra Provincial Office of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Suharno said the province imported 3.580 kg of coffee bean and powder worth US$8.360 million.
(SYS/S012/H-YH)
Editor: Suryanto
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