Growing sale for clove cigarettes

Press, 15 January 1979, Page 18

Growing sale for clove cigarettes

By

PETER WOODWARD

in Jakarta

The clove cigarettes of Indonesia, called “kreteks” because of the crackling noise the cloves make as they burn, are an indispensable part of the fabric of Indonesian society, mil j lions being consumed each day by a vast market. Now, however, the Indonesian makers of clove cigarettes are looking overseas to export markets. Already, the potentially huge market of the United States is being tapped, and also Australia, along with Indonesia’s neighbours Singapore and Malaysia, where tastes are very similar because of cultural and social links. Next on the list appear to be Saudi Arabia and Japan, and the long-term targets include Britain and Europe. The exporters of the idiosyncratic clove cigarette have, however, encountered one or two unexpected problems, mostly with customs officers in the countries they export to. Customs men in Los Angeles were suspicious that the cigarettes did, in fact, contain something a little stronger than mere cloves. Only after laboratory testing were the ch garettes cleared as not part of some fiendish plot to undermine American society with strange and noxious substances. A similar problem was encountered in the Philippines, where customs men were persuaded to release clave cigarettes from the bonded warehouse only after they had been shown the Indonesian excise band on the cigarettes, which includes Indonesia’s state symbol, as proof of respectability. Exporters, however, expect such misunderstandings to become fewer as more and more people import clove cigarettes and they become more common on world markets. Already in the pipeline is an initial order from Saudi Arabia for 200 bales from one of the premier manufacturers, which makes Gudang Garam, one of the best known of the Indonesian brands. In addition, a Japanese tobacco company has recently asked for samples of Gudang Garam made in the firm’s factory in Kediri, eastern Java.

The cigarettes are made mostly of cloves, with various percentages of to»

bacco mixed, plus flavouring, which may be clove oil or clove leaves. Many Indonesians smoke the non-tipped variety, but for the export market, bearing in mind the strength of the cigarettes, the tipped varieties are usually required. All exported smokes are provided with the warning: “Smoking is hazardous to health.” Recently, makers report more demand from overseas for non-filter cigarettes. Indonesians say that not only are clove cigarettes possessed of a distinctive taste, but also that they are positively beneficial, that the cloves soothe sore throats, and also that smoking cloves and tobacco mixed reduces the health hazards encountered in smoking just tobacco. Certainly, many visitors to Indonesia do not take lang to get acquainted with the delights of Gudang Garam or one of the many other brands, and usually take that taste back with them to their own countries. This has proved to be one of the spurs to export growth, Indonesian trade centres and embassies in many countries receiving calls about the availability of clove cigarettes — although it does appear in a small number of the calls that the interest in the cigarettes is prompted by the misguided belief that they contain a drug like marijuana, mainly because of the strange aroma from the burning cigarette. Although the export side of the business is not yet large, measured in terms of the gigantic Indonesian market, the Gudang Garam factory in Kediri alone earns about a quarter of a million dollars a year from it. This sort of figure is expected to rise rapidly in the next few years, as the export drive is stepped up. The money to be made out of cigarettes in Indonesia is enormous. The family firm which makes Gudang Garam, among other brands, is reputed to be among the richest in 'ndonesia. It began business in 1958 and is headed by Wyns Wonowidjojo, who now employs 24,000 people. Unusually for a businessman in South-East Asia, Mr Wonowidjojo refuses to deal through agents.