Yellow Gum and Green Color, Export Problems of Mangosteens and Mangoes of Nusantara
Yellow gum on mangosteen fruit and green color on mango fruit of Indonesia became one of the export problems of both commodities. Yellow gum caused a bitter taste so the mangosteen was not good to eat. Yellow gum on the outside of the mangosteen was caused by the mechanical disturbances such as collisions, punctures, insect bites and improper way of harvest method. “Although we have been developing the technology to overcome this, but the presence of yellow sap on the mangosteen is still a problem for farmers,” revealed Lecturer of Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), Dr.Ir. Darda Efendi at the time of being a moderator at Discussion Forum for Accelerating the Agribusiness of Mango and Mangosteen of Nusantara, Friday (27/11) in IPB International Convention Center (IICC), Bogor. The Forum titled ‘Mempercepat Investasi dan Pengembangan Agribisnis dan Agroindustri Mangga serta Manggis Nusantara Skala Usaha Kecil Menengah / Accelerating the Investment and Development of Agribusiness and Agro-industry of Mango and Mangosteen of Nusantara of the Scale of Small and Medium Enterprises’ was one of a series of activities of Festival of Fruit and Flowers of Nusantara (FBBN) in 2015.
Meanwhile for mango business, the commodity export was still less existed in the international market, because one of them was the ripe mangoes from Indonesia which were generally having green color. “Foreigners generally prefer and consume colored ripe mangoes. While the ripe mangoes that we export have green color so making it less competitive with mangoes from America and Israel,” continued Dr. Darda.
According to Head of Office (Dinas) of Agriculture and Livestock of Indramayu, Ir. Firman Muntako, M.Si, said the investment opportunities of fruit agribusiness in Indramayu were still wide open. “There are still a lot of land that can be used. Prospective investors can coordinate with us.”
In addition to inviting the practitioners of cultivation that came from various main producing areas of mangoes and mangosteens such as Bogor District, Indramayu District and Probolinggo District, this forum also presented other speakers amongst them: Head of Office (Dinas) of Agriculture of Bogor District, Ir. Siti Nuriyanty, the representative of local government of Probolinggo District, the representative of Directorate General of Horticulture, Ministry of Agriculture and the representative of Directors of Bank BNI Syariah. (AS)
