Indonesia has historically played an important role as a supplier of black and white pepper to the international market. Since the late 16th century, when de Houtman and Van Nect started trading in pepper, and the early 17th century when the Dutch established pepper plantations in Java and Sumatra, Indonesia has been a major contributor to world trade in pepper. Today, Lampung Black and Muntok White pepper are respected names in the pepper trade.
Pepper in Indonesia is a smallholder crop, with average farm size of less than a hectare. An estimated 190,000 hectares of pepper are cultivated, mainly in Lampung and Bangka, with some areas in South Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi becoming important recently. In Lampung black pepper is produced, while in Bangka, because of suitable conditions, the entire production is of white pepper. In Kalimantan and Sulawesi almost 70% of production is black and the remaining white. Lampung and Bangka are main sources recording exports, while pepper from Kalimantan and Sulawesi are channeled to nearby local markets as well as to neighboring countries.
