About The Industry

Peanut growing in Indonesia

The Spanish variety of peanuts were taken to the Philippines by Spanish galleons and from there to south-eastern China before 1600, where it was known as 'foreign beans'. It spread from there throughout China and from there to Japan where it was known as ‘Chinese beans'. Chinese settlers were probably responsible for introducing peanuts to the rest of Southeast Asia and Indonesia. Since their introduction peanuts have become a staple of Indonesian cuisine. Indonesians created flavoursome peanut sauces (kacang sambal)  by crushing and roasting them with other Indonesian spices and foods.

The Spanish variety of peanuts were taken to the Philippines by Spanish galleons and from there to south-eastern China before 1600, where it was known as 'foreign beans'. It spread from there throughout China and from there to Japan where it was known as ‘Chinese beans'. Chinese settlers were probably responsible for introducing peanuts to the rest of Southeast Asia and Indonesia. Since their introduction peanuts have become a staple of Indonesian cuisine. Indonesians created flavoursome peanut sauces (kacang sambal) by crushing and roasting them with other Indonesian spices and foods.

There are 39 million metric tons of peanuts produced globally per year.  China leads in production of peanuts having a share of about 32.95% of overall world production, followed by India (18%) and the United States of America (6.8%).

Indonesia is the fifth largest producer producing around 1,250,000 million tons per year. The main centers of industrial peanut production are Cirebon and Semarang in Java and Sulawesi in the eastern islands.

Peanuts are a major food legume in Indonesia, produced almost entirely for direct human consumption, and provide farmers with their greatest non-rice-crop cash return.

The importance of peanuts in Indonesia can be seen in the many varieties of regional snacks.