Elevational Impact on Konjac Price Amidst Export Restrictions to China

Abstract

Porang or konjac (Amorphophallus muelleri) farmers have complained about the drastic decline in the selling price of konjac. The export restriction of Indonesia's konjac to China had resulted the excessive supply. The lower price, the weaker of bargaining power of farmer. Thus, threatened the sustainability of exports and farmers'prosperity. Farmers were dependent on middlemen because of the lack of transportation and harvesting facilities. The study was conducted on the differences in the elevation of locations, considered Pangandaran and Purworejo Regency in September to December 2023. The analytical method used was Ordinary Least Square (OLS). Variables that significantly influence the selling price were farmers'knowledge of konjac trade between Indonesia and China, elevation (MASL), processed konjac, duration of storage, and education level. Farmers who know that China banned export tend to sell konjac prices at very low prices because they were unable to comply with standard operating procedures for cultivation technique and post-harvest. Exports in the form of tubers have been very at risk of contamination and tuber rot. Konjac was not recommended to be stored long after harvest. Processed konjac into chips has been effective in reducing the water content so that the quality of konjac does not decrease.