Asep Jembar Mulyana, Head of the Organizational Division of the Indonesian Coconut Charcoal Briquette Entrepreneurs Association (HIPBAKI), has declared Indonesia as the largest and best producer of shisha charcoal briquettes globally.
“This is exciting news, as Indonesia’s coconut shells are of the highest quality for producing shisha charcoal,” Asep stated during the launch of the Coconut Downstream Roadmap at the Bappenas Office in Jakarta, quoted on Tuesday (1/10).
Asep emphasized that, to date, no competitors have matched the quality of Indonesian coconut charcoal briquettes. This is why nearly all buyers worldwide focus solely on Indonesia.
“In fact, our quality is the best; we are the only country that can confidently say shisha charcoal briquettes are an endemic product of Indonesia,” said Asep, a businessman in the charcoal industry.
Indonesia’s coconut charcoal briquette industry is almost entirely dedicated to producing briquettes for shisha or hookah, a traditional Middle Eastern smoking method that has gained global popularity.
Currently, over 200 briquette industries in Indonesia are predominantly micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), comprising about 80 percent of the total industry.
“Why did we choose shisha? Because shisha is the highest class of briquettes, it has the highest value and the highest price compared to other briquettes,” Asep explained.
Asep noted that the coconut charcoal briquette industry in Indonesia has significantly improved the livelihoods of coconut farmers since the primary raw material comes from coconut shell waste.
“You can check in the field; not a single piece of coconut shell remains with the farmers. The charcoal briquette industry buys all of it,” Asep said.
He further mentioned that the smooth operation of the briquette industry sometimes leads to active carbon industry players struggling to find raw materials.
Additionally, Asep highlighted that the shisha charcoal briquette industry in Indonesia is one of the most self-reliant sectors, both in terms of market and technology.
“We use 100 percent local technology. We do not rely on any other country. As for the market, we never ask for government assistance,” Asep asserted.
Therefore, Asep hopes the government will continue to support the industry so Indonesia can maintain its position as the largest and best coconut charcoal briquette producer in the world.
“This is what we hope for: government reinforcement so that, unlike other fields where we lost our leading position, we can sustain and thrive,” Asep concluded.
Source : https://news.majalahhortus.com/indonesia-produsen-briket-arang-shisha-terbesar-dan-terbaik-dunia/
