Rains cause lull in cassia supply flows in Indonesia
Indonesia’s key cassia growing area of Kerinci has experienced an unusually high level of rain during March and April, Cassia Co-op reported.
“Ironically, this period is supposed to be ‘dry season’. This side effect of La Nina has flooded most parts of the main village in the district (Sungai Penuh),” Patrick Barthelemy, founding member of the company, noted.
The report explained that main access roads are under water and/or badly damaged. “This logistical setback has temporarily slowed down the supply of cassia barks at the source. Nevertheless, the quantity of cassia is sufficient to meet the demand if the collector and the exporter are willing to pay the relatively high price required by the farmers,” Barthelemy added.
He observed that undried raw material barks are ranging between IDR14,000 (USD1.05) and IDR18,500 per kilo.
Barthelemy finds that demand from the EU and US has been stable and large buyers are covering their 2016 requirements.
He suggested that the start of Ramadan on June 6 will slow down transport and export activities, but most shippers are planning for this disruption.
