Pine Resin Tappers in Mamasa Receive IDR 10,000/kg as Industry Reaps Far Greater Profits

Image: article cover, from Zakiyah et al. (2026), Jurnal Wasian, licensed CC BY 4.0.

A research team from the University of West Sulawesi has uncovered a sharp value disparity in the pine resin marketing chain in Sasakan Village, Sumarorong District, Mamasa Regency, West Sulawesi. In a study published in the Journal Wasian, tappers receive IDR 10,000 per kilogram, while the processing industry enjoys a far larger margin, particularly from the turpentine derivative.

The study, involving 33 active tappers, identified three marketing channels, from farmers to collection partners and on to PT Kencana Hijau Bina Lestari in Polewali Mandar Regency, which processes the resin into rosin and turpentine. The margin at the industry level reaches IDR 13,000/kg for rosin and IDR 63,000/kg for turpentine. The largest profit is concentrated in turpentine, at IDR 60,288/kg, owing to production scale, processing capacity and access to export markets. Meanwhile, collection partners earn only a margin of IDR 2,000/kg.

According to the research, this pattern indicates a structural inequality in the marketing system for non-timber forest products. Farmers are in the weakest position despite their crucial role as producers. The research team argues that strengthening farmers' bargaining power, access to processing technology and fairer market partnerships is necessary to keep pine resin enterprises profitable and pine forests sustainably managed in the long term.

Source and how to cite

This story is based on the research article Unequal Value Capture in Non-TimberForest Product Chains with Evidence fromPine Resin Processing in Rural Indonesia by Andi Mawaddah Zakiyah, Rini Pratiwi, Astina Astina and Widyanti Utami A, published in Jurnal Wasian Vol. 13 No. 01 (2026). The full article is free to read on the Jurnal Wasian website.

Cite the original article (APA 7):

Zakiyah, A. M., Pratiwi, R., Astina, A., & Utami A, W. (2026). Unequal Value Capture in Non-TimberForest Product Chains with Evidence fromPine Resin Processing in Rural Indonesia. Jurnal Wasian, 13(01), 12–19. https://doi.org/10.62142/h3q6w153

If you use these findings in coursework, a thesis or other writing, cite the original article above, not this news story. The original article is licensed CC BY 4.0.