Business and on the Indonesia market overview

ECONOMY. The Indonesia is a market-based economy, but the Government plays an important role in the economy of the country with 160 State-owned enterprises. Indonesia GDP per capita class fifth after Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand. The 1997 Asian economic crisis has adversely affected the economy of the country and businesses and caused a spiralling prices of products of first necessity resulting from social unrest. The future of the economy of the Indonesia prospects are bright with structural economic reforms in placed since the Asian economic crisis.

Indonesia GDP was 258.3 billion with a GDP per capita of US$ inhabitants in 2004. The Indonesia real GDP increased on average by 4.6% per year from 2000 to 2004, led by the accountant of domestic consumption for almost three quarters of the GDP Indonesia. Inflation rose from 3.8% in 2000 to 11.9% in 2002 but finally declined 6.1% in 2004. Past GDP per capita of US$ 801 in 2000 to US$ inhabitants in 2004 but also increased 6.1% to 9.9% in the period of unemployment.

The manufacturing sector contributed 43.7% of the Indonesia of GDP in 2004, while the services sector contributed 40.9%. Although almost 45% of the active population of the country is involved in agriculture, this sector contributed only 15.4% of the GDP of the country during the period. Major industries include oil, and natural gas, textiles, clothing, footwear, mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood, rubber, food and tourism. Agriculture major products include rice, palm oil, rubber, cocoa, peanuts, copra and cloves.

DEMOGRAPHY. The Indonesia is composed of almost 18,000 islands and has the largest population among the countries of Southeast Asia with 217 million in 2004. Main islands are accounting for 55% of the population of Sumatra (18%), Java Kalimatan (5%) and Sulawesi (6%). Other less populated islands include Irian Jaya, Bali and Nusa Tenggara.

The Indonesia is a country of diverse ethnic communities and with different languages and dialects, cultures and food. The Javanese represents 45% of the population followed by Sundanese (14%) and the Madurese (8%) and coastal Malays (8%). Chinese who migrated to the Indonesia during the Dutch colonial period account 5% of the population. Islam is the dominant religion, followed by Christianity and minority religions include Buddhism and Hinduism. The Bahasa Indonesia (similar to Malay used in Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei) is the national language. English is not widely used but of many companies and representatives of Government dealing with foreigners and foreign companies are commonly the language.

More than half the population live in rural areas, but the proportion of the urban population is from 36.0% in 1995 to 45% in 2004. Major cities include Jakarta with a population of 10 million follow-up of Surabaya, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Medan and Padang.
About 25% of the population living below the poverty line while another 60% are in the lower income group. The remaining 10% belong to income means and 5% in the highest income group. Although the Indonesia has a relatively low proportion of average high income consumers, this is equivalent to 33 million consumers. It is more Singapore 4.3 million people with a GDP per capita comparable to those of many economies of the European Union.

INFRASTRUCTURE. The Indonesia domestic telecommunication system is generally fair, while its international services can be classified as good. Broadband Internet services are mainly concentrated in large cities. Road systems are more developed on the Indonesia populated island of Java, developed in Sumatra and Sulawesi, but poorly developed on the island of Kalimantan. In addition to seaports serving international lines, Indonesia are also served by small seaports, coastal shipping service. The main towns and cities are connected by air transport services.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE. Major trading partners of the Indonesia to the Japan, us, Singapore, Korea of the South, and China. A large part of imports from Singapore are re-exports of Singapore from other countries and exports to Singapore are re-exported to other countries. The Indonesia exports include oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textile and rubber products. Major imports include machinery and equipment, transport equipment, chemicals, fuel and food.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY CONSUMERS. The mobile phone penetration is only 13% of the population, which is less than Singapore (93%), Malaysia (67%) and Thailand (45%). In addition, there are fixed phones for only $ 10 million in the service of the whole country. Computer penetration is less than 2% of households and the country has only 1.2 million internet subscribers with 12 million internet users or a penetration rate of only 0.5% of the population. Most high income and the average houses would be owner of televisions, but penetration in lower income households is lower. Java TV penetration rate is about 60% and Sumatra 52%. Similar scenario exists for refrigerators.

RETAIL MARKET. Sales in the retail food and non food totalled estimated at 32 billion dollars in 2004. Many Indonesians still shop at traditional markets or establishments "mom and pop" shopping in modern shopping malls, hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores and supermarkets, but more and more popular. There are some 5 000 these modern institutions in Indonesia, accounting for the retail sales of 4.5 billion US dollars in 2004. Most of these establishments are concentrated on the island of Java, followed by of Sumatra. Since 1998, the Government opened the retail of foreign investment and industry participation.

FOOD CULTURE. The Indonesia food culture is diverse because of the different ethnic communities that made up the population of the country. Typical meals consumed are occasionally of rice and noodle dishes. However, there are many facilities for the rapid restoration of the West franchise located primarily in the major cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Semarang and Yogyakarta. Workplace to the point of sale high range of bakery products in the service of Western bakeries and local are also present in large cities.

Khal Mastan is Senior Consultant at Pegasus Business and advisory market ([http://bma.pegasus-asia.com]) by Malaysia. He is involved in the business and marketing research and provides consulting services in the markets in Southeast Asia namely Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Brunei. He has more than 20 years of experience in the region and work experience in various industries. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and an MBA. He can be contacted at khalzuri@pegasus-asia.com or + 6 7726 5373 (03) in Malaysia.

The challenges of Fair - fair trade Indonesia

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Fair-trade, Fair and Equitable Trade and Relationship Coffee in Indonesia- a Merdeka Coffee view:

1/. Internal (Indonesian specific) Barriers- Indonesia is a country with a huge potential internal consumer base. However at this stage the consumers we target are based in Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Bali and Bandung. Outside of these cities, the market is very small. The cities mentioned have a combined population of close to perhaps 40 million inhabitants. However our target market is middle to upper-class Indonesians and expatriates- making up perhaps a market as small as 1.5 million potential consumers. Of this number those interested or those whose buying decisions are based solely on our efforts to trade fairly with our partners is probably as little as 10,000 people or less.

Fair trade, relationship coffee and organic partnerships play an important part in the retail coffee market overseas. As much as 38% of the coffee market in the USA is engaged in some form of certified or direct relationship with growers (fair-trade, organic, shade-grown, bird-friendly etc). In the Indonesian market understanding of relationship coffee and/or fair-trade is weak. This is for a number of reasons- lack of education and understanding of the coffee market is perhaps one major reason. However apathy towards the agricultural sectors of the economy is also a very important reason. Most urban Indonesians view the agricultural sector as being both remote and removed from their lives. The closest many modern Indonesians come to being in contact with farmers is buying produce in Supermarkets. Wet markets are these days mainly the domain of the modern Indonesians house staff, where produce is purchased. This separation means that an out of mind-out of sight attitude is taken to farming. This dislocation affects all sectors of the agricultural community but most directly effects sectors where fair trade pricing could be easily implemented- coffee, chocolate, tobacco etc. While there is a general acceptance that organic, chemical free product has a place in the Indonesian market, the bridge to a fair trade product is harder to cross. Organic coffee is perceived as being good for the consumer (drinker). Shade grown coffee is seen as being good for the environment. Fairly trade coffee is actually good for the drinker, environment and community... so really the focus should be on fair trade. Paying the farmers a decent return for their product results in-

- farmers staying on their land instead of migrating to the cities. In the cities their skill sets are not suited to urban living- thus they end up un/underemployed.

- Great coffee. A problem in Indonesia is a lot of the coffee harvested ends up as poorly graded stock. This is because farmers are paid not enough to cover the time they should put into crop maintenance. As a result coffee is picked green or let on the trees until over ripe. It is then dried in a haphazard fashion. This means the taste is poor. With decent returns this cycle can be broken. Great coffee= higher demand= better returns to the farmer.

- Economic and social stability. Farmers staying on the land means skills are put back into agricultural practices. Best practices means using natural means to maintain quality crop in harmony with the village. Natural sprays for pest control (such as tobacco) are used to minimize damage to the cherries. Decent returns means the village can build facilities and diversify economic systems (introduce other crops, livestock etc)

- Also maintaining coffee crops, especially in a water catchment area, can help to reduce flooding damage further down on the flat, alluvial plains. In many areas Coffee can be grown under primary or even secondary forest canopy.

The Indonesian domestic market also has a topsy turvy view of local product vs. imported product. A survey we undertook (1) amongst Indonesian customers showed that nearly 85% of Indonesians preferred "coffee grown in Italy" to "coffee grown in Indonesia". Italy grows no coffee. They import green coffee from producing countries such as Indonesia, India, Vietnam etc, roast and then re-export the finished product. When questioned what is important to them as buyers of coffee, "fair-trade" rated 9th out of 10th in regards to importance (10th and of least importance was type of package- tin, box or sachet). In fact when asked about buying "espresso blend" coffee, 90% of all respondents said they would only buy Espresso blended in Italy. A further 9% said they would consider buying "Espresso" blended/roasted in Australia, New Zealand, Japan or China. Less than 1% said they would consider buying/using "any Espresso blended/roasted" in Indonesia. When asked to elaborate on the decision, it came back almost entirely to the fact that "the Italians grow the best coffee"!!! To most respondents important was flavor, followed by aroma, packaging, design. In a country where the minimal wage in rural areas may be as low as 300,000idr a month, it is difficult for Indonesians to see that fairly trading coffee is indeed a means to an end. It offers opportunities that benefit everyone through a complex supply chain- including of course the Jakarta based buyer of a cappuccino in Starbucks or Merdeka Coffee.

2/. Eternal Factors:. Fair trade is a principle of great importance for the present and future of coffee in Indonesia. From very positive beginning, in recent years the certification systems have become quite complex, as well as expensive to obtain. Certification itself has become more of a business rather than a service being offered to the developing countries that need it most. Certification through Transfair and similar organizations in the USA and Europe can be very, if not prohibitively expensive for small growers and small cooperatives. Fair trade (as well as 'organic' and 'shade grown') is actually monitored in the large USA market via the FDA. Unless certification is obtained through a FDA approved agency, the words "fair-trade" etc can not be printed on the packaging. In theory this is great, it keeps scalpers out of the system. However in reality it can prevent a small roaster or US broker from setting up a direct trade system which indeed pays recognized fair-trade prices directly to a grower. In the 15 or so years since fair-trade was established, only 3 Indonesian growers have obtained certification. This is an amazingly low number considering Indonesia is the world's 4th biggest coffee producer. Conversely Costa Rica, the worlds 14th biggest producer, has 75 certified FTL (Fair-trade Label) producers! The reasons for this are that fair-trade is not ideally suited to small-hold or even small cooperative growing groups. The Indonesian certified growers (such as PKGO in Aceh and Gayo Mountain in Aceh) have over 10,000 growers. The number of growers needed to obtain leverage for certification means that coffee ends up being 'pooled' or sourced from large growing areas. Instead of allowing the specific characteristics of coffee grown in a very small growing area to shine through, the big coop system dilutes the real perfection of small-holder grown coffee. This is a flaw with the current approach to fair-trade, one which was designed perhaps to work best with the Finca, or estate growing systems in Central and South America.

While the demands for Arabica coffee grow year on year, the ability of roasters in countries such as the USA to reach growers directly in countries such as Indonesia remain limited. Many growers in Indonesia are located in remote mountain areas. Many do not have telephone access, let alone internet connectivity and/or the ability to communicate in English. As a result most coffee exporters are located in the big port cities- Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan and Semarang. These exporters are not growers but brokers and/or finishers and packagers of raw green bean product. Buyers by default will often go through the contacts that they have in these export cities, not realizing often that these contacts are only exporter/brokers. Ultimately the growers never have a direct interface with the buyers. Currently even if they did, they would struggle to meet the quality demands of many of the overseas roasters. Most Indonesian coffee growers are producing anywhere from 1000-8000kg a year- in a cooperative/village situation. One container of coffee is 18,000kg of coffee. The coffee must be dried to a minimal moisture content, finished (can include being polished) and of course be packed free of stones, sticks, faulty beans by a pre-agreed screen size into 60kg sacks. While growing and preliminary drying can be achieved at village level, the additional finishing can not- as machinery, technology etc is not available to many communities. If the remote villages did have a direct access to the market and if the machinery to finish and ultimately ship from the growing location was available, then a direct for of fair-trade would for sure be more than a possibility. There are cases in Central America where small-holders can make excellent returns from coffee- due to its rarity, quality and appeal to specialty roasters is Europe, America and Japan.

Summary:

Overall the domestic market in Indonesia is driven by branding. Branding itself can be split into two segments- the international and the local brand names. Premium branding is seen as being the foreign coffee labels and cafes (Illy, Maxwell House and Lavazza for coffee and Starbucks, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf etc for cafes). These big brand operators globally roast extremely high volumes of coffee. The volumes they deal in often makes direct procurement using certified fair-trade systems impractical. This is not to say these brands do not have their own internal fair/equitable trade systems, however the volumes in question means that often they can not have a direct purchasing system from small hold growers in place, and they need to operate purchasing through a number of local partners and brokers. Therefore it is fairly rare to see retailers in Jakarta selling and educating their clients about fair and equitable trade with brokers. Also as the roasting industry in Indonesia is still mainly focused on producing bulk for the lower end/instant market, there are few roasters who are seen as being educators such as those who are found in specialty markets such as the US and NZ. Ultimately the specialty market in Indonesia is still in its infancy, the move to drinkers buying coffee product based on social issues rather than brand awareness is perhaps still at least 4-5 years away, if not longer!

Local Brand operators such as Excelso, Regal, Kopi Luwak, Brew and Co etc are appealing to a different segment of the market. This segment is very price conscious, and perhaps less well educated, less well paid than those who frequent the international brands. The local segment here is large, growing, but very competitive and perhaps less brand loyal than that found in the Premium Branding segment. Here as mentioned in the first paragraph, there is little concern about the welfare of the farmer and the growing community. The consumers want to enjoy a coffee, cake, meal and socialize. The local café brands also produce locally sourced coffee, so in theory they would be in the best position to champion fair-trade. However the bulk of the coffee blends sold by local producers are Robusta rich, mirroring the taste requirements of the local client base (mainly based on the finely ground Robusta kopi tobruk found in most Indonesian kitchens!). Robusta is still the main coffee type produced in Indonesia, and it certainly is an area where fair-trade struggles to make any impact. The historically flat prices for Robusta, combined with the lack of interest in the coffee from the more political active specialty coffee sector, means that Robusta remains a low price commodity, rather than a product that has value added by roasters skill. The squeeze on pricing for the local café chains, as well as Robusta's role in the equation, means that any concept of fair-trade would struggle in the local sector of the café market in Indonesia.

(1)- Merdeka Coffee- Market Survey. Respondents 500 questioned- Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Bali. 2006.

Alun Evans is an expatriate roaster based in Indonesia. His work includes traveling and working alongside growers throughout the country. He has almost a decade of experience in Indonesia. He may be contacted at alun@merdekacoffee.com

Tourist destinations of the Indonesia

Decide which part of the Indonesia, the largest archipelago in the world, to visit can be a little confusing. If you can stay for 2 weeks,you would likely to get the best of your Indonesian trip.

Where to to go?
There are more than 17,000 islands, 300  native ethnic groups and 700 different languages, exploring truly Indonesia will be a life long! However, don't let these figures not frighten you. You can still discover the best of the Indonesia if your trip is well planned.

According to the Ministry of Culture and tourism, more than 6 millions  foreigners  visited Indonesia in 2008. This number is much bigger than 2007, despite the recent negative media coverage of the situation of the Indonesia, Indonesia Tourism has never lost its value.

Here are some top tourist destinations in Indonesia:

Bali - the island of the gods.

Bali has now become one of the main world destinations, for its white sand beaches blue sky, beautiful waves, tropical climate and friendly people. For several years, the International Travel Magazine awarded Bali as best of the world island. There are more than 1.4 million tourists in Bali in 2008. You have to ask myself, what makes Bali as the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia?

First, the island is located 8 to 9 degrees south of the Equator  with the Java Sea to the North and the Indian Ocean, to the South, which gives Bali a tropical weather wonderful year-round!

It has rich cultural experience you're looking for, Bali is just for you. The Balinese people have very strong Hindu beliefs. This is represented by statues and temples you can visit all around Bali. A form of art the most popular is "tari kecak" or the Ramayana monkey Chant. A fact that most of the people is not known "tari kecak", is that this art form was originally a ritual traditional trance.

Bunaken - a paradise for the Navy on Earth

It is said that Bunaken Marine Park has one of the higher levels of marine biodiversity. The Park extends over 89,065 hectares of the warm tropical waters. It is a paradise of beautiful coral reefs. Many tourists come to this site to dive or snorkel to see direct corals. Bunaken received international recognition for its preservation of the Marine Park. For example, The International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN) chose Bunaken as its site of unique Asian demonstration for tourism sustainable reef. You are guaranteed to have a spectacular diving experience here!

Stay on the Marine Park, it is also a relaxant. Lifestyle casual provides tourists with pleasure that they do not usually receive in the life of the city. Here, everything flows gently and you need not worry. Start your day by going for a dive in the morning, then return for breakfast quick and NAP before leaving for a dive of the night.

Jakarta - a metropolitan city in Indonesia

Jakarta, the capital and largest city in Indonesia is 8 million people. It is the twelfth largest city in the world. You might ask what you can see in Jakarta. There are actually many places that you can not expect to see in Jakarta.

If it's Museum experience you are looking for, Jakarta is home to more than 22 museums with their own distinctive specialties. For example, National Museum displays historical aspects of Indonesian culture with its vast collections of artifacts and relics that date from the stone age.

The Museum has one of the most comprehensive collections of Chinese ceramics dating to the Han, Tang and Ming Dynasties, and collections of gold and bronze of the Indonesian classical period. On the other hand of the city, Wayang Museum collects thousands of puppets of all regions of the Indonesia.

There are many other things you can do when you visit Jakarta. One thing for certain, a culinary adventure is a must! Jakarta has a wide selection of traditional kitchens because of the unique mixture of ethnic origins Indonesians in Jakarta. At the end, you can fully enjoy the Indonesia culinary adventure while staying in Jakarta!

As you read above, adventure never ends in Indonesia. However, please visit http://www.turisku.com and discover at least the best of the Indonesia.

Agustian Hermanto is the founder of Turisku. It is dedicated to help the companions travel junkies struggling with the best of the Indonesia. Turisku is the most complete of the Indonesia travel guide