For a long time, Indonesia has been known as a country of waving palm trees. That means, so many coconut trees grow abundantly in our country. Indonesia has the potential to become number one in the world as a producer of coconut, especially its derivative products. Coconuts have so many benefits for human life. Apart from the water which has many health benefits, the shell also has high economic value.

Coconut shells or coconut shells, which are the raw material for charcoal briquettes, are currently often thrown away. In fact, coconut shells can be used as raw material to be processed into charcoal, which can still be reprocessed into innovative products that can provide added value.

Indonesian coconut charcoal briquettes have large export potential. One factor is the quality of Indonesian coconut briquettes which are considered the best by the international market. Coconut shell charcoal briquettes are an alternative fuel that is often used for cooking, especially for grilling food, such as in Europe, in Middle Eastern countries it is used for smoking shisha pipes, while in Asia, such as in South Korea and Japan, coconut charcoal briquettes are used for cooking purposes in restaurants, because coconut shell charcoal briquette products from Indonesia can produce greater heat than coal briquettes or charcoal from mangrove plants. Apart from that, briquettes made from coconut shell charcoal are also safer, environmentally friendly, because they do not damage plants such as mangroves and do not cause smoke. Moreover, it is related to the very sensitive issue of global warming.

With large export market opportunities, this means that the need for raw materials for coconut shells will be even greater. Small and medium businesses should be able to seize this opportunity to utilize coconut shells. Coconut charcoal briquettes are the only market where demand is higher than supply, that is, there is a lot of demand that cannot be met due to limited raw materials.

In the future, to prevent shortages and ensure the availability of raw materials for coconut shells, it is necessary to sell them in the form of processed products, in order to provide more value and maintain the sustainability of Indonesia’s natural resources in the long term. Even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic that is currently hitting the whole world, hopefully this will not dampen the enthusiasm of Indonesian entrepreneurs to penetrate the export market.

Source : kemlu.go.id/maputo/id/news/13455/arang-batok-kelapa-indonesia-yang-kualitas-mendunia