Lintong Arabica to Supply Starbucks

     Coffee farmer Lintong Nihuta now can enjoy the Starbucks’ coffee. He is Manatap Siregar, e farmer that graduated from yunior school only has now responsibility to manage hundreds million rupiahs, the collective funds from coffee exporting yields with fair international trade.

Manahan, who lives in Sibuntuon Partes at Lintong Nihuta Estate in Humbang, North Sumatera, around 300 km from Medan, the main capital where two Starbucks store can be found sale and trade the arabica coffee from Lintong Nihuta. As like as the name, Lintong Nihuta become the house for arabica lintong coffee. This estate lies on the hill edging to lake Toba that very good for arabica to grow.

     In Starbucks, the roasted beans of Lintong priced at around 10 dollars for 250 grams with exclusive packaging. There are two brands that sold in Starbucks, Sumatra and Sumatra Decaf. Lintong Arabica coffee or as known as Lintong Coffee is one of the three brands that very famous in the world that planted in Sumatera. Two others are Mandheling and Gayo.

     When the reporter visit Manahan at his house, he frankly said that he knows not to Lintong coffee since he only sells the beans. Very seldom to roast and grind the coffee and more practically to buy it at the market. Manahan does not ever taste Starbucks coffee and he does not know the coffee of Lintong are exported, roasted in his country but resale it back in the country (Indonesia) with very expensive price.

      In the international trading network, at the first point, the farmer or the labour do not get their profit share from the trading. They stay poor, although the yield of their plantation very high at international market, such as Lintong arabica coffee. Fortunately, Manahan join to Organic Coffee Farmer Association (APKLO) that begun since October 2003. APKLO is the concorsium of two coffee farmer group of Lintong Nihuta and Siborongborong. On 2005, the association achieved the certificate of Fairtrade Labeling Organization (FLO), a non profit organization network bases in Bonn, Germany that controls international trade running fair for commodities supplier such as farmer and labour. APKLO achieved this certification after briefed by Wakachai Project, a non goverment organization of Japan.

     

     FLO created the trading standardization for commodities supplier, exporter and buyer. At the official website mentioned that fairtrade is an alternative approachment in conventional trading base on cooperation of supplier and buyer. Fairtrade offers the consumers the way to decrease poor while purchase. The labelled product of FLO is more expensive however the margin enjoyed by the product supplier.

Pemium Fairtrade

     Fairtrade cuts the chain of trading. The farmer like Manahan able to sell directly to the importer in Japan without liaising to the collector. “Farmer could not able to make their own price because should sell their coffee to the collector,’” said APKLO chairman, Abdul Gani Silaban. “With Fairtrade, we get the minimum standard that not influenced by world coffee price. When the price high we get higher profit. Other benefit is we get premium fairtrade, the extra cash that not include to standar price,” Gani 

     Starbuck is one of coffee buyer that join in fairtrade network. There are 24 countries thay take labeling fairtrade initiative. They are spread in Europe, America, Japan, Australia. In Siborongborong, the exporter of Lintong coffee that supplies Starbucks, PT Sumatera Speciality Coffee (SSS) requested by Starbucks to make cooperative with the farmer group to have the FLO certification.

     According to the founder of  Wira Farmer Credit Union, his credit union is at the final step to achieve FLO Certification. “The term to have FLO Certificate is very difficult but the advantage of fair trading for farmer is more important. We learn from APKLO successful,” He said.

      Now, APKLO plans to build the storey and to buy the peeling machine from the premium fairtrade fund. Manahan also added,”By build the storey, the farmer can deposit their coffee and will release when the price higher. The farmer will not rent the peeling machine if they own it. To enjoy the aroma of Lintong arabica coffee that they produce, Manahan not require to go to Starbuck that sell it very expensive. The fair trade let Manahan to enjoy the aromatic coffee of Lintong, even he enjoy the coffee from anywhere he can get it. (Kompas)