Lebak, Banten (ANTARA) - Cimenga palm sugar made by Cijaku craftsmen, Lebak District, Banten Province, has the best quality in the world because of the traditional production process, traders have claimed.
"The advantage of cimenga palm sugar is that it lasts a long time. It is also very flavorful and very sweet," Awa (45), the owner of a Najwa shop selling traditional food products in Rangkasbitung, Lebak District, said on Saturday.
The demand for Cimenga palm sugar during the pandemic was relatively stable because it had better quality compared to sugar from Sobang and Cibeber, he claimed.
He said he sent four toros or 100 units of sugar cimenga palm sugar to Garut, West Java, on Saturday.
Cimenga palm sugar traders make an average of Rp300 thousand (around US$21) per toros, he added.
"We can sell 30 toros per day, so the accumulated income is Rp9 million (US$631)," Awa revealed.
He said that most of his products are dispatched in packages to customers outside Banten area.
There are customers from Tenjo to Garut who order palm sugar as raw material for making dodols, he informed.
Currently, Cimenga palm sugar production is quite abundant, he said. Every week, craftsmen send up to 200 toros of palm sugar, he added.
Another Cimenga palm sugar trader, Undang (60) said that he supplies 300 toros to Tangerang, Serpong, to Jakarta, and earns Rp90 million per week (about US$6,312).
The customers are mostly business players in the food industry, he said. Some of the sugar goes to the market, he added.
So far, the supply of cimenga palm sugar is still limited to meet captive customers' demand, he said.
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"We have been selling cimenga palm sugar for decades. It really helps the family's economy, even workers (employees)," Undang said.
According to Deputy Head of Lebak District Ade Sumardi, currently, palm sugar production is the main source of income for people in the area.
This is because palm plantations or sap trees are a source of raw material for palm sugar, and almost all of them are spread across 28 sub-districts in Lebak District, he explained.
The palm sugar industry generates up to billions of rupiah in profit every year, he said.
In addition, it also employs thousands of workers, and is able to improve the welfare of people in remote villages, Sumardi said.
Some palm sugar products are even exported, he added.
The palm sugar produced in Lebak district is still organic because palm plantations owned by farmers are not exposed to chemical fertilizers, given their locations around mountain and hill areas, Sumardi said.
Recently, they exported one ton of Cimenga palm sugar products to South Korea, which was dispatched by President Joko Widodo from Jakarta, he added.
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