North Sulawesi Exports Nutmeg to Netherlands

North Sulawesi will start exporting nutmeg of the best quality and in shrivel.

"The nutmeg exports will reach 14 tons earning North Sulawesi 287.56 thousand US dollars in foreign exchange," head of the North Sulawesi Industrial and Trade Agency Sanny Parengkuan said here on Wednesday.

Sanny said the best quality nutmeg for export to the Netherlands will amount to five tons worth 102.7 thousand US dollars, or 25.4 US dollars per kilogram.

In the meantime, the nine tons of nutmeg exports in the form of shrivel produced 184.86 thousand US dollars in foreign exchange, but at a slightly lower price of the best quality of the commodity of only 20.54 US dollars per kilogram.

Head of the foreign trade division of the North Sulawesi Industrial and Trade Agency Hanny Wajong said the two types of nutmeg are mostly sought by buyers in many countries of the world.

"Demand for nutmeg of the best quality and shrivel form not only come from the Netherlands, but also from Italy, Asia, and South America," Hanny said.

Nutmeg is one of North Sulawesi’s most prospective commodities, and its exports went to many countries on a regular basis each month. The number of nutmeg purchasing countries has been increasing, in the beginning mostly in Europe, but now there are many other countries in the world.

The North Sulawesi provincial administration has been constantly motivating the farmers in the region, preserving the existing crops and replacing the old ones with young plants in many areas in a bid to develop nutmeg into a foreign exchange producing commodity.

The existing nutmeg crop centers in North Sulawesi with the biggest suppliers of the commodity are Sangihe and Talaud as well as North Minahasa (Minut) and Minahasa.

"The farmers in the 15 regencies/municipalities in North Sulawesi are raising nutmeg, and the biggest producing areas are Sangihe and North Minahasa," Hanny said.