South Kalimantan exports agricultural commodities worth IDR868.8 billion

Banjarmasin, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - South Kalimantan's agricultural products export continued to swell marked by the release of agricultural commodities exports worth IDR868.8 billion by acting Governor Safrizal ZA.

Safrizal said the send-off of South Kalimantan agricultural exports in Banjarmasin on Saturday was part of Merdeka Ekspor (Export Freedom) which was carried out simultaneously at 17 Ekspor Merdeka gates throughout Indonesia by the Ministry of Agriculture.

"One of the indicators of the success of agricultural development is the increase in the value of export, so the send-off of this export is a positive momentum to maintain South Kalimantan's agricultural performance during the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

Until the end of July 2021, the value of South Kalimantan agricultural export reached IDR4.97 trillion, increased compared to the same period last year of IDR2.41 trillion.

Currently, the province's agricultural exports are still dominated by palm oil and its derivatives, but new products, such as Cassia Alata or senna alata (locally known as daun gelinggang or gelinggang leaves) are starting to be exported.

The government will continue to encourage the efforts to develop gelinggang leaf, among others by providing free seeds.

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Safrizal targets that by 2024 agricultural export to double. The government will also provide various administrative easiness for farmers of exporters to ship their products.

"Earlier there was a complaint from exporter regarding container. We will cooperate with Pelindo and other related parties to resolve this obstacle," he said.

Head of Banjarmasin Agricultural Quarantine Nur Hartanto said that the agricultural commodities exported during the Merdeka Ekspor consisted of slab rubber, gelinggang leaves, RBD Palm Olein, CPO, palm kernel expeller, and processed wood (plywood).

All of the products, he said, were shipped to nine destination counties, namely India, China, Russia, Vietnam, South Korea, Brazil, Thailand, Philipines, and the USA.

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