Who would have thought that chips could become an export commodity abroad from Indonesia in the midst of a pandemic. There are so many variations and types of processed chips from Indonesia that have managed to penetrate the European market such as Germany, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, and to Hong Kong, Korea, to the United States. Chips are processed foods made from natural products. The ingredients used usually come from tubers, vegetables, or fruits that are thinly sliced, dried, fried and seasoned. To produce a savory and crunchy taste, chips can also be mixed with flour mixture and given certain spices. There are also chips that are sprinkled with additional flavors, such as cheese, chocolate, salt, chili powder, seaweed, and others.
Indonesia as a tropical country with abundant natural resources has the potential for processed tropical fruit products as snacks or healthy snacks. This is seen as a market opportunity to produce fruit chips processed using vacuum frying technology. Indonesia is known as an agricultural country and has a geographical location on the equator, making Indonesia have more sunlight intensity and high enough rainfall so that this condition is very favorable for farming activities. The total plantation area in Indonesia will reach 9.58 million hectares in 2020. Indonesian plantations produce a lot of various fruits.
These chips include banana chips, jackfruit chips, cassava chips, sweet potato chips, tempe chips, and many other types. Banana chips are produced in various flavors, there are original flavors, chocolate flavors, cheese flavors and various types of other flavor choices. In addition to banana chips, jackfruit chips began to be in demand by the international market and penetrated the European market. On the other hand, cassava chips are also in great demand in America. These chips can be categorized as an alternative local food producing carbohydrates other than rice and corn.
Seeing the potential and successful experiences of several industries that have succeeded in exporting chips from Indonesia, snack food businesses such as chips are no longer underestimated but will be more promising if processed and processed optimally. The prospect of exports in the packaged food sector is a big hope in the future.
