The Current Status of Sago Production in South Sulawesi: Its Market and Challenge as a New Food-Industry Source

This paper gathers information on the current status of sago production in South Sulawesi (Indonesia) including its market and the challenge as a new food-industry source. A case study approach was used for this study. The case studies are a producer of dried sago in Palopo City and a Kapurung (sago processed food) Restaurant in Makassar City. In-depth interviews, observation and sales data collection were conducted for this study. The results show that even though sago production in South Sulawesi has decreased significantly by 86% within 8 years (2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013), demand of sago has increased. This is demonstrated by sales of dried sago which tends to increase by 25% as well as the number of sales spots has increased significantly within a year. Furthermore, the number of our case study`s restaurant outlet has also increased from 1 outlet in 1999 to 4 outlets in 2011, yet, all of these outlets are located in Makassar City. These observations can be used as a parameter of sago demand, and it is predicted that demand will increase in the future. As a new foodindustry source, the sustainability of sago supply as a raw material will be a challenge in the future.