The increasing production volume of cardamom in North Sumatra

The production output of white cardamom in North Sumatra has shown a steady upward trend in the first quarter of 2020, in comparison to the same period in 2019. The production yield from this province increased slightly to 125 MT from 115 MT last year. Aside from the domestic market, the majority of the production output from this province is allocated to supplying overseas demand especially from the neighboring countries in the Southeast Asian region such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Economically, this commodity has become a very valuable spice in the global market, as it is now the third most expensive agricultural product behind saffron and vanilla, making cardamom highly attractive for the farmers to produce.