TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE COCONUT SECTOR IN INDONESIA: A CASE MODEL ON AGRO-BASED INDUSTRIALIZATION

A Basrah Enie*

ABSTRACT

Coconut is an important commodity in Indonesia, and it is used for industrial and household purposes. The meat, water, husk, shell, and other parts of coconut are processed into food and non food products.

Research and development activities on coconut processmg are conducted on product and process development quality improvement, and environmentally friendly technologies. The technologies are developed for small and medium scale industries in the processing of coconut meat (oil, coco milk, coco cream), coconut water (nata de coco, beverages), coconut sap (molded and granulated coconut sugar, syrup), coconut husk (fibres), and coconut shell (charcoal). The approach to the integrated coconut processing mdustry will give the positive effects in increasing income of farmers, creating job opportunities, supporting the regional development, and increasing export earnings.

Keywords: Coconut processing, appropriate technology, coconut products, coconut oil, nata de coco, charcoal, coconut palm sugar.

INTRODUCTION

The coconut pahn is the most extensively grown and used nuts. Of all the palms, coconut is of highest economic value. It is grown over the widest area and has possibly the largest number of uses including in a wide variety of foods.

The coconut is utilized by households and restaurants for cooking purposes, by farmers to make copra, and by the small and medium scale industries for the production of oil and processed products.

Director, Institute for Research and Development of Agro-based Industry (IRDABI) Agency for Industrial and Trade Research and Development Ministry of Industry and Trade Bogor, Indonesia

171 The coconut tree deserves its distinction as the "tree of life". All of its components from its leaves down to its roots are economically useful to man. So, the coconut tree could be used in supporting income earnings of farmers in coconut producing regions.

According to the Bureau of Statistics, Indonesian coconut production in 1997 is 2.670 million metric tons. The production is slightly lower than the preceding year's crop, 2.761 million metric tons. The coconut is produced by small holder estates, large government-owned estates, and large private estates (6).

This paper describes the efforts on the development and transfer of technology on coconut processing in Indonesia.

COCONUT PROCESSING INDUSTRY IN INDONESIA

The coconut sector has contributed to the development of agro-based industries in Indonesia. At the industrial level, the nuts are processed into various food and non-food products. The coconut meat are processed into coconut oil, coconut cream, and desiccated coconut; the shell are processed into charcoal and activated carbon; the husk are processed into coir fibres; the sap are processed into coconut sugar and golden syrup; and the water are processed into nata de coco and coconut beverages.

The small or cottage scale coconut processing industries tend to be labour intensive. These industries use simple and manual equipment, and employ traditional methods of processing. Industries in this category include those who are producmg copra, crude coconut oil, coconut sugar, vinegar and charcoal. The medium and large-scale industries are producing refmed coconut oil, desiccated coconut, and sterilized coconut milk.

The govemment gives special attention to the development of small and medium scale industry. It is expected that these industries play an important role in improving the welfare of rural communities by providing more employment opportunities, poverty alleviation, and also to promote export earnings.

The technology developed for small and medium-scale industries should be appropriate and environmentally friendly.

172 Table 1. Coconut processing industries in Indonesia.

NO RAW MATERIAL INDUSTRY I Coconut Meat Copra, coconut oil, cooking oil, oil products/derivatives, coconut milk, coconut cream, desiccated coconut, candied coconut meat, skim milk beverage. 2 Coconut shell Charcoal, activated carbon, coconut shell powder, handicraft 3 Coconut husk Coir fibre products, coir dust products 4 Coconut water Nata de coco, beverages, coconut sauce (kecap air kelapa), vinegar 5 Coconut palm sap Moulded coconut sugar, granulated coconut sugar, golden syrup, vinegar, alcohol, beverages. 6 Coconut wood Furniture, handicrafts 7 Coconut leaves Handicrafts

COCONUT PRODUCTS OF INDONESIA

A. COPRA

Copra making is among the oldest industries in the world. Copra is the commercial name of dried coconut meat to be used for coconut oil production. Copra contains from 57% to as much as 66% oil while meal recovery ranges from 32 to 35% (1). Copra is produced traditionally by drying the coconut meat by smoking, sun drying, or mechanical dryer. The mechanical dryer will produce good quality of copra.

Indonesian exports of copra reached 156 tons (1995) with the value of USS 42,000 and in 1997 exports volume sharply increased to 22,681 tons.

B. COCONUT GEL

Coconut oil is the important product derived from the coconut palm. The oil is obtained by the pressing of copra or by direct processing of wet kemel. Copra oil should be refmed before consumption, and the wet process or fiy-dry oil could be used directly for frying and other purposes.

Coconut oil is consumed primarily as edible oil, but it has special characteristics that gives it access to an exclusive market. It has distinctive flavour characteristics and keeping qualities, which makes it particularly desirable for certain edible products, like cookies, pastries and non-dairy creams.

In Indonesia there are several methods for the preparation of coconut oil, i.e. the copra process, kelentik process, fermentation process, and fry-dry or HOID process. Copra oil is obtained by pressing the copra in screw presses or expellers. The expressed cmde oil is filtered while the residue or copra cake is broken down

173 The expressed crude oil is filtered while the residue or copra cake is broken down into small pieces or powder and packed in sacks or bags. Crude copra oil must be refined to remove free fatty acids, odours, flavours, and colours. The need for refming is increased by the presence of microorganisms on the copra, as well as high moisture content.

Kelentik oil is a popular cooking oil made by boiling coconut milk, and it is usually prepared and used by households in the villages. The oil is usually prepared by cottage industry which employs 3-5 people. Upon completion of the process, two type of products may be obtained, i.e. oil and oil residue (curd or gelendo), which presumably consists of protein, carbohydrate and minerals, After being pressed, the curd may contain 7.5% oil when the moisture content is 13.8%.

The extraction of coconut oil by fermentation method is also practiced by cottage mdustry. The major disadvantages of the method is poor quality oil and the residue inedible due to the growth of wild microorganisms. Improved technique for extraction of coconut oil by fermentation process has been investigated. The coconut milk was left for 30 mmutes at room temperature, and then the cream was separated from the skim milk. The cream was mixed with 20% freshly prepared starter of baker's yeast, and incubated for 24 hours. The oil recovered has a pleasant flavour.

The fry dry or hot oil immersion drying (HOID) process is a method of coconut oil extraction that involves drying the disintegrated coconut kemel by immersing it in hot coconut oil and then expelling the oil from the cooked pieces. It is indigenous to parts of Indonesia (West Sumatra, North Sumatra and North Sulawesi). It is practised all over the country, especially in medium- and large- scale operations. The immersion of disintegrated coconut kemel in hot oil dries the kemel and imparts a distinctive smell and flavour to the product. This flavour of HOID oil is preferred by sections of the market in Indonesia.

C. COCONUT MEAT

Coconut meat is the most important part of coconut. For centuries the meat enters into the diet of the people in the form of coconut milk or cream. As mentioned above, the meat is traditionally used for copra making and oil production. The coconut meat is also used for the production of desiccated coconut, coconut snacks, candied coconut meat, and beverages.

In 1996 the major importing countries for Indonesian desiccated coconut are the Netherlands, France, UK, Singapore, Taiwan, and Belgium. Exports of desiccated coconut reached a total of 24,150 metric tons.

174 D. COCONUT HUSK

Coir is the name given to the fibrous material that constitutes the thick mesocarp (middle layer) of the coconut fruit. The long fibres or coir are extracted from the coconut husk. For the production of "white" coir the husk segments are softened by retting for as long as nine months (microbiologically breakdown of the surrounding pith); for the bristle and mattress fibre by soaking in water for a weeks, or days if the husks have been crushed beforehand.

Coir extracted from green immature husk termed "white/retted fibre", which is fmer and with a lighter colour than that obtained from mature nuts. It is used in the preparation of yam, cordage and a wide range of floor fumishing materials such as foot mats, mattings, mgs, carpets and specialty articles such as filters. The mature nuts yield "brown fibre" and this is normally obtained as a by• product of copra or desiccated coconut production. It is used in the manufacture of bmshes, curdle coir, for filling upholstery, and various types of mbberized coir products which serve as bed mattress, cushioning blocks, air filters, and packagmg materials. Indonesia is by far a producer of "brown" fibre.

Exports of Indonesia in 1996 for coconut fibre and fibre products reached 866 metric tons.

E. COCONUT SHELL

The coconut shell in Indonesia is utilized as fuel for domestic use and for copra drying kilns. The shell is also industrially used for coconut shell charcoal making and coconut shell flour.

The shell is converted into coconut shell charcoal by combustion in a limited supply of air. The demand for coconut shell charcoal is increasing as it is an excellent raw material for the production of activated carbon. Approximately 24.000 whole shells will make 1 metnc ton of charcoal, and around 3 metric tons of charcoal will produce 1 metric ton of activated carbon.

Coconut shell flour is prepared by grinding cleaned coconut shell into fme powder, and grading according to particle size. It is mainly used as a filler in place of wood flour in the manufacture of mosquito repellents, floor coverings and as a mild abrasive in the cleaning of piston engines.

Indonesian exports of coconut shell products in 1996 were made up of 15,855 metric tons of shell charcoal and 12,325 metric tons of activated carbon.

175 F. COCONUT PALM SAP

Several palms, the coconut (Cocos), sugar palm (Arenga), palm>Ta (Borasus), and nypa palm (Nipa), axe tapped for their remarkably rich and copious sap. In Indonesia the fresh sap are traditionally used for drinking purposes and also used for the production of palm sugar and vinegar.

Coconut is dominating the palm sugar production, followed by sugar palm, palmyra, and nipa palm. Coconut palm sap is processed by cottage industry in the village where the coconut is grown. The products are the moulded brown sugar and the granulated brown sugar.

In 1996 exports of Indonesian coconut sugars reached 179 tons with a value of USS138.000. Coconut sugars are exported to Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Canada, Netherlands and other countries.

G. COCONUT WATER

Coconut water has been known to be an excellent microbial medium because of its rich supply for essential nutrients. In the Philippines, coconut water is used for the production of nata de coco, and the production is started in the later part of 1940's. Industrial utilization of coconut water into nata de coco in Indonesia was started in 1970's.

At present Indonesia is one of the major producers and exporters of nata de coco. Nata de coco is produced by small and medium scale industries in Java, Sumatera (Lampung), North Sumatera, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi. Nata is exported to Singapore, Taiwan, and Japan in the form of raw sheets and processed nata in can, plastic pouches, and cups.

H. COCONUT WOOD

The stem of the coconut is a valuable material for the production of timber and other wood articles. One important property of coconut wood is the facility with which it could be machined and fabricated to various forms. Added to this, it has a good shaping quality particularly along the grain. Coconut wood can be successfully used for floors, frames, furnitures, and handicrafts.

176 CASE MODELS ON AGRO-BASED INDUSTRIALIZATION OF COCONUT.

Research activities on coconut products and process development has been conducted at the R&D institutes in Indonesia, such as at the IRDABI Bogor, Coconut Research Institute Manado, and universities. To get maximum benefits from the R&D activities, the results are transferred to the mdustry for commercial scale production, either by cooperation with the private sectors or with the govemment institution. The experiences on transfer of technology firom the laboratory to commercial scale will be described below.

A. NATA DE COCO

The R&D on the utilization of coconut water into nata de coco is the first success story of the IRDABI in developing the coconut product. Before 1970's it had no commercial value for coconut water. Coconut water is a waste material in copra and coconut oil processing. The R&D on nata de coco was started in 1974 and the results were presented at the 2"'' National Seminar on Food Technology which was arranged by the Chemical Research Institute (now the IRDABI) in cooperation with the Indonesian Association of Food Technologists (PATPI). The promotion of technology was then continued through brochures and leaflets, consultations, and training of extension officers and entrepreneurs from various provinces.

The research on the improvement of nata de coco fermentation has been continued and the good quality of liquid starter has significantly shortened the process from 12 to 8 days. The machinery and equipment were also developed for the commercial scale of nata de coco production.

Startmg in 1995 the IRDABI has conducted a research collaboration with the NIMC (Japan) on industrial utilization of nata de coco. The nata can be processed to high-strength sheet or be useful as fragment for reinforcing pulp papers. The application into commercial scale production is still in progress.

177

regional institutes representing 8 provinces, and also officers of the Regional Offices of the MOIT.

The demand of palm sugar products was increased, especially from the European countries, Australia, Middle East, Japan, and other Asian countries. Responding to this reauest. the nroduct diversification of nalm suear into granulated form wa.s also Cane Sugar

\7 Coconut Water Filtering Boiling

Covered with Filling Cooling Sheet of papaer (in plastic pans)

Fermentation - Glacial Acetic Acid (room temp, 8-12 days) -(0.6-0.8%) -Liquid Starter (10-15%)

Nata Sheet -N Cut into Cubes Dipping in Cold Water V (2-3 davs) JI Packae ing Boil (10 mm) Boil (2-3 times, to (glass jar , can, C remove sour taste) plastic cup, louches)

- Syrup Sterilization A Nata de Coco - Flavouring V

Figure 1. Nata de coco production.

B. COCONUT PALM SUGAR

The coconut brown sugar is the second success story of the IRDABI on R&D and transfer of technology. The research was firstly conducted in 1982 through the UNIDO project DP/INS/76/001. The initial activities were focused on the quality improvement of moulded coconut brown sugar (19). The bench work was conducted at the laboratory in Bogor and the result was transferred through 6 months out-posted program at Desa Ngoran, Kecamatan Nglegok, Blitar District, East Java Province. The production capacity of sugar producers involved was 4-6 kg per day, and total producers were 425 units. After applying the improved technology, the selling price of the product was increased from 4 to 8 percent.

The promotion of technology was continued through the technical workshop on brown sugar held in June 1993. The workshop was attended by participants from

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Coconut Meat

Disintegrated Coconut

r- REFERENCES

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