REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesian Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has seen off the first batch of 5,600 tons of onion worth US$8.5 million to Thailand.

The export of onion is an achievement for the agricultural sector in the country, as it has managed to become an onion exporter from importer, he noted.

"This year, we exported (onion) to Thailand. We should take advantage of this momentum of national awakening. We dedicate this export to the Independence Day," he said in an official statement released, Friday.

Indonesia imported 72 thousand tons of onion from Thailand in 2014. The figure plunged to 17 thousand tons in 2015. Since 2016, Indonesia has not imported onion from Thailand.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Indonesia exported 657.3 tons of onion to several countries in the first seven months of this year.

In 2016, the country exported 735.7 tons of onion to Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Timor Leste.

"The onions are exported between July and October when they are in overproduction. The onion producing areas which supply to the export market are Brebes, Cirebon and Bima districts," he said.

Indonesia's onion production reached 1.45 million tons in 2016, up 18 percent from a year earlier.

Its onion production is projected to reach 1.68 million tons in 2017, while the domestic need is expected to stand at 1.25 million tons. In the first half of 2017, onion production reached 594 thousand tons.

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