On November 9, Sahat Manaor Panggabean, director general of the Indonesian Quarantine Bureau, presided over the export ceremony of 4,176 tons of local pineapple fresh fruit to China in Bandar Lampung City, Lampung Province, Sumatra Island. The exports amounted to 39.8 billion Indonesian rupiah, about 18 million yuan.

Director Sahat said that after eight years of hard work, he finally succeeded in exporting fresh pineapple fruits from Lampung to China. This is also the largest batch of pineapple exports to China after obtaining access last year, after which Lampung pineapple will also be exported to New Zealand and other countries. Previously, GGP had been exporting fresh pineapple fruit to Singapore and Japan on a weekly basis, with a total of 80 containers of fresh pineapple fruit being exported in stages to date.

Indonesia is one of the major pineapple producing regions in the world, with a wide range of cultivation areas, mainly concentrated in Lampung, East Java, West Java and Riau provinces. According to the forecast data released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the cultivation area of pineapple in Indonesia is expected to exceed 15,000 hectares in 2022, and the production is expected to reach 2.10.0 million tons. At present, Indonesia has become the world's fourth largest pineapple producer, the market oversupply, the production of pineapple is mainly for export. Since pineapples cannot be stored for a long time, most of the pineapples in Indonesia are canned and exported.

As the world's largest private label canned pineapple manufacturer, GGP exports half of its output. In addition to canned products, there are fresh pineapple fruit, jam, juice concentrate, cocktails and other products, have been exported to more than 60 countries and regions, including China. "After Indonesian fresh pineapple was allowed to enter the Chinese market, we started to adjust our production capacity, starting with growing more pineapples," said Veli Sugiono. China's General Administration of Customs has allowed the import of fresh Indonesian pineapples since August 16, 2022, and Sugiono said that "after being allowed to enter, we immediately exported a batch of pineapple fresh fruits that met China's inspection and quarantine requirements." The cargo ship departs from the port near Lampung and arrives in China about 8-10 days later. The temperature inside the container is controlled between 8 and 10 degrees Celsius, and real-time monitoring is implemented to prevent fresh fruit from spoiling."

Customs statistics show that as of October, 3,700 tons of fresh pineapples have been shipped from Indonesia to China on cold chain ships, making Indonesia the third largest source of imported pineapples after the Philippines and Thailand. Thanks to the preferential policies of the “Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement” (RCEP) and the China-Asean Free Trade Area, Indonesian pineapple exports to China can enjoy tariff reduction and customs clearance efficiency is also high, making pineapple can be sent to the Chinese market at a better price and faster speed.