REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Indonesian Rattan Industry Worker (MPPRSI) is optimistic that rattan industry in Indonesia will soon enter the world market. Head of MPPPRSI, Badrudin, pointed out the blooming rattan industry in Cirebon, West Java which started to compete with the old player in rattan export, China. 

“We do not only take orders from European countries, even some buyers from China start to order from us,” Badrudin said on Thursday.

Yet, Badrudin also pointed out some problems faced by rattan industry, including the irregularity in supply from the main supplier, Sulawesi. Quite often, the flow of supply stop abruptly for few days and such practice disrupt the production. To resolve the supply problem, some business owners start looking for other sources to fulfill the demands, such as from Kalimantan and Lampung. 

Blessing 

Such blessing in Cirebon’s rattan industry is due to the government regulation in 2011 to stop export on raw materials including rattan. “Since the beginning of 2011, there is an increase in export volume of rattan from Cirebon,” Badrudin explained. “The increase may not be big in volume, but quite significant. The increase is about five to ten percent.”

He noted, the slow increase was due to the crisis that hit Europe, which was our traditional destination region of export. The export volume in August 2012 has reach 2,400 containers or increase steeply compared to 2011 when the government still allowed raw material export. During that period, the export was even less than a thousand containers per month.  

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