REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Trade Ministry hopes the country could boost its exports of coffee beans to increase its earning from the commodity exports.

Currently Indonesia's exports of coffee beans were valued only at around US$1.5 billion a year from the world market of US$28 billion, deputy trade minister Bayu Krisnamurthi said.

"The contribution is small while the potential is big," Bayu said here on Friday.

Indonesia is the world's fourth largest producers after Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia .

The country is the second largest producer of robusta coffee with Vietnam is the largest in the world. The two Latin American countries are producers of arabica coffee.

Bayu said coffee market is high not only abroad but also on the domestic market, adding coffee consumption in the country grows from year to year.

Domestic consumption is around 50 percent of exports in value, he said.

Bayu said Indonesia is one of the world's largest coffee producers but currently the country's production is declining.

Indonesia was the world's largest producer of robusta before Vietnam emerged to the ranks of world's top producers several year earlier.

"What is growing in Indonesia is not the volume but the value giving new geographical identity for coffee from Indonesia," Bayu said.

He said Indonesia now relies on the geographical identity with Aceh Gayo, Sumatra Mandailing, Java and Toraja and other varieties of coffee.

The world's largest importer of coffee is the United States accounting for 16.27 percent followed by Germany 12.73 percent, France 8.48 percent , Italy 5.8 percent and Japan 5.59 percent.

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