BIOTROP Director Dr Irdika Mansur and PT Pemalang Agro Wangi Director Ms Raeti signed a Memorandum of Understanding for essential oil production on 10 February 2017 at the Centre’s headquarter. The MoU will be effective for one year.

Both organizations agreed to collaborate in research and building capacities of interested entrepreneurs to help increase essential oil production in Indonesia towards meeting global market demands. Research activities would include exploring potential plants and their cultivation for large-scale cultivation, extraction technology as well as analysis of essential oil quality. Capacity building would include transferring the techniques in cultivation and development of plot demonstration of valuable essential oil plants, distillation, quality analysis, and global marketing.

PT Pemalang Agro Wangi is a private company engaged in essential oil production particularly from citronella grass (Cymbopogon nardus (L.) Rendle) and cloves (Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merrill & Perry).