Improved Marketing of Mandarins for East Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia

In the highland areas of West Timor, where the climate is relatively cool, the mandarin variety Keprok Soe is widely grown in the districts of Timor Tengah Selatan (TTS) and Timor Tengah Utara (TTU) in Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) Province. Largely due to its economic value and popularity among local consumers, the Indonesian Government adopted some measures to promote Keprok Soe. Good grades of Keprok Soe fetch a premium price in direct competition to imported mandarins from various countries including China, Pakistan, Israel and Australia. Basically, there are two supply chains for mandarins grown in West Timor. About 90% of the mandarins are sold locally, with only 10% sold to other provinces. In general, there are three methods by which farmers can sell their mandarins: forward-sale by tree, per tree sale at harvest and per kilo sale after harvest. Farmers’ use of different selling methods is often related to the size of their mandarin farm, income, price of mandarins in that year, availability of family labour, farmers’ educational experiences, length of farming experience, and distance from the farm to the local market. Established traders play a key role as channel managers in the supply chain, especially for the inter-island supply chain. Quite exceptionally, traders have motivated farmers to strive for good products, be competitive and become ‘champions’. Hence, the traders have been observed to play a mixed role of channel manager, information supplier, co-investor and extension officer. These activities and alliances suggest that a reciprocal rather than a win–lose relationship exists. Supply-chain constraints include production (cultural production, plant protection), poor infrastructure, and postharvest losses (20%). Potential strategies for chain improvements include horizontal integration at the farmer level, enhancement of the capacity of traders as supply-chain coordinators, and branding of Keprok Soe. In relation to improving the likelihood of implementing these strategies, this Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) project conducted production and marketing workshops, and broadcast information and knowledge by radio.