Indonesia SHISHA CHARCOAL
Charcoal, especially charcoal briquettes for shisha, for Asep Jembar Mulyana, Managing Director/owner of PT Tom Cococha Indonesia, is a coconut derivative product that is the most superior compared to others when viewed from various business parameters. This was conveyed in a discussion with Mediaperkebunan.id.
First from the market side, demand is much greater than supply. “Try where there is a business like this. The charcoal business is a crisis-resistant business. I experienced all the economic crises that occurred in Indonesia and remained safe even more smiling. Charcoal 100% local raw material 100% export market. Our receipts are in dollars,” said Asep.
Both of these the government should pay attention to. Until now there is no single country or any organization that regulates the price of charcoal briquettes. Asep is very free to determine the price. Currently, the price of Tom Cococha charcoal briquettes is the most expensive compared to other factories.
The three characteristics of the market are sustainable. The 95% shell charcoal briquette industry focuses on the sisha industry. Sisha, originally from the Middle East, is now global and is a new way of life. Its nature is the same as cigarettes, regardless of the price increase, people will still buy.
But that does not mean there are no obstacles. This business is so great and interesting, in the last 5 years the briquette factory has grown like mushrooms in the rainy season. New factories with the scale of home industries are growing everywhere, everyone is competing to make them.
But just like mushrooms that live only for a short time, so the factory was standing for a while and then closed. Although there is now an Indonesian Coconut Charcoal Entrepreneurs Association, it has not been able to touch the root of the problem in this industry.
There is no standardization of the product in the charcoal market. The government also needs to know that only Indonesia can make coconut shell charcoal for shisha. “Indonesia can become the world’s king of shisha charcoal. But now it’s a war between the producers themselves. In fact, if the buyer agrees to determine the price, there is no other choice,” he said.
India as the largest charcoal producer in the world cannot make shisha charcoal, because if it could, Indonesia would have been dead for a long time. They’ve tried to make it and learn directly from Tom Cococha but still can’t make it.
Asep is sure that for other coconut derivatives such as desicated coconut, activated carbon and others, no matter how hard he tries, Indonesia will never become the king of the world. Other countries are much stronger and have been producing for decades, such as India, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, even though Indonesia is the owner of the largest coconut plantation in the world.