Pekanbaru, Riau (Antarariau.com) - Industry Minister Airlangga Hartanto called for the boosting of the sago (Metroxylon sagu) processing industry in Riau province.
The province, where sago is available in abundance, is still not well developed to carry out its processing.
"Sago should be further processed in Papua, Maluku and Riau, as these regions have abundant amount of production," the minister said at the Riau Expo here on Monday night (Oct 24).
For instance, in Sarawak Malaysia, sago has been developed on an industrial scale, he added.
"The production does not require a large-scale industry. In fact, small or medium-scale industries are enough to process sago," the minister asserted.
The Riau provincial administration works together with the Hospitality Business Association to develop the sago industry. Moreover, sago industry in Indonesia grows by nine percent per year, higher than the national economic growth.
Sago, which is derived from sago palm, can be found in tropical lowland forest and freshwater swamps across Southeast Asia and New Guinea.
It tolerates a wide variety of soils and may reach about 30m in height.
Sago is extracted by splitting the stem lengthwise and removing the pith. The pith is then crushed and kneaded to release the starch before being washed and strained to extract the starch from the fibrous residue.
The raw starch suspension in water is then collected in a settling container. Each palm produces 150-300kg of starch.
Ministry Boosts Sago Processing Industry In Riau
