Essential Oils Worth IDR 140-millions/kg

Lajagua Alpinia malaccensis is not a familiar name since it grows wild at forest side and ridge so that it is rarely taken into account. Eko Wibowo, a distiller in Ciherang, Cianjur Regency, West Java, however, process the rhizome of lajagua into 600 kg of lajagua oil per month. Sold at IDR280.000-IDR300.000 per kg, he gained a minimum IDR168-million turnover.

The yield obtained through distillation reaches 2% or at least it takes 50 kg of raw material to produce a liter of oil. With total production cost IDR250.000 per kg, his net profit is IDR18-million per month. A bigger margin is gained by roses and jasmine oil distillers. For example is Suryatmi, a distiller in Central Java, who distills 2-3 liters of jasmine and rose oil. She only distills whenever an order comes which is once in two months on the average.

With selling price IDR20-millions-IDR30-millions per liter, she gains IDR36-million net profit. According to Suryatmi the production cost per kg of oil is “only” IDR12-millions. The yield of jasmine oil is 0,1%. Accordingly, to obtain 1 liter it requires 1 ton of fresh flowers. The selling price of rose oil is in fact much more ravishing, i. e., IDR140-millions for Damaszener rose Rosa damascena at distiller level.

Lajagua and jasmine are merely some of new material for essential oil. In some places, there can be found distillers who produce various “new” commodity such as the flowers of fennel, the leaves of cubeb pepper, betel, and cinnamon bark. Those commodities have log grown in Indonesia, and only since recently they are distilled. (Sardi Duryatmo)