The policy impacts and implications from the insights of mangosteen export chains

Abstract

Mangosteen has the highest contribution to Indonesian fruit export under the national fruit trade balance deficit. As this fruit is mainly cultivated by small-scale farmers in rural areas in an agroforestry pattern, mangosteen is essential for farmers’ income and environmental sustainability. However, there are noticeable gaps between the mangosteen production and export demand which means the potential market for Indonesia is to increase export. On the other hand, some bottlenecks along the supply chain of exporting mangosteen in Indonesia. This study employs the value chain analysis to evaluate the governance of mangosteen export. Results show that the primary issue is the transparency of the standard quality of exported mangosteen along the supply chains. The significant differences between the local and exported market prices are expected to be the disadvantages farmers face. The information on the mangosteen quality between farmers and traders is different, potentially decreasing the prices received by farmers as the standard in the farmers’ levels is higher than in the traders. Government and farmer groups should work with traders to resolve this problem to enhance the fairness of the benefit earned by each actor along the supply chain. Suppose this information is transferred transparently among actors along the supply chain. In that case, it will not only enhance the farmers’ income but also motivate them to increase productivity and quality, eventually enhancing the export of Indonesian mangosteen.