Ministry works on export potential of Wamena coffee

Jayapura (ANTARA) - The Agriculture Ministry's Quarantine Agency has encouraged economic growth in Papua by accelerating exports of agricultural products, especially coffee from the province's municipality of Wamena.



Coffee from Wamena (the capital of Jayawijaya district) has a distinctive taste, the agency's head, Ali Jamil, said here on Monday, adding that the coffee farms in Wamena cover an area of 1,910 hectares in 24 sub districts, including Walesi, Kurulu, Hubertus and Pyramid.



Wamena produces some 600-650 kilograms of coffee per hectare and its coffee production in 2017 reached some 125.8 tons, and this commodity is worth developing for exports, and even further, if it is well processed with good packaging and is ready to drink, he said.



He also pointed out that the export value of non-oil and gas products, especially in the agriculture sector, from Papua's capital city of Jayapura in 2018 reached Rp 35.6 billion, while as of March 2019, its export had reached 29.1 percent compared to that of the previous year which amounted to Rp 10.3 billion.



"With the current efforts, together with the Government of Papua, we believe the export target can double that of the previous year," he said.



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