Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world’s fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation\’s capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world’s seventeenth largest economy by nominal GDP and fifteenth largest by purchasing power parity.

The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia\’s history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.

Across its many islands, Indonesia consists of distinct ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. The Javanese are the largest -and the politically dominant- ethnic group. Indonesia has developed a shared identity defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a majority Muslim population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesia’s national motto, “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” (“Unity in Diversity” literally, “many, yet one”), articulates the diversity that shapes the country. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the world\’s second highest level of biodiversity. The country is richly endowed with natural resources, yet poverty remains widespread.

Pepper in Indonesia

Famously known for its Lampung black pepper and Muntok white pepper, Indonesia is considered as one of the biggest pepper producers in the world. Black pepper in Indonesia is mostly cultivated in Lampung while white pepper notedly comes from Bangka Belitung province. Other main producing areas are East Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bengkulu and South Sumatera which produce both black and white.

During 2022, Indonesia was reported to have produced 65,000 Mt of pepper of which 28,678 Mt was black and 36,324 Mt was white pepper. Thus, recording a decrease by 22% as compared with the total production in 2021 or a decrease by 10% when compared with the average production of the last ten years.

In 2022, Indonesia exported a total of 29,579 Mt of pepper comprising 16,393 Mt (55%) of black pepper and 13,186 Mt (45%) of white pepper. Recording a dropped by 22% of the total export by Indonesia as compared to 2021. With the total income of USD 148 Million, Indonesia was reported to be the 3rd biggest pepper exporter in the world for 2022 just behind Viet Nam and Brazil.

The main destination for Indonesian pepper was Viet Nam, United States of America, China and India with market share of 19%, 19%, 15% and 12% respectively of the total export of Indonesia.