Mt. Sinabung's Eruption Destroys 1.893 Hectares Of Citrus Plantation

Medan, N Sumatra, Nov. 13 (Antara) - Volcanic material spewing from Mount Sinabung has destroyed 1,893 hectares of citrus plantations in Tanah Karo and impacted fruit production. "The number of damaged citrus plantations might be increasing as the data was only gathered from five sub-districts located near Mount Sinabung," the Head of Karo District`s Agriculture Office Agustoni Tarigan said on Wednesday. The 1,893 damaged plantations are spread across five sub-districts, namely Merdeka, Berastagi, Namanteran, Simpangempat and Payung. In fact, data from the local agriculture office showed that there are around 14,000 citrus plantations in the Karo District. The low production is estimated to last until next year as the effect of the volcanic material will be seen during the next harvest. The local administration`s plan to rejuvenate damaged citrus plantations will have to wait until Mount Sinabung`s eruption has stopped. Mount Sinabung has erupted several times since September this year. The volcano, which is located 2,460 meters above sea level, erupted again on Sunday at 3:58 p.m. Karo`s administration has set aside a budget to provide 165,000 citrus seedlings for local farmers to replace the old trees. "Providing the seedlings is one of the efforts being made to conserve and develop one of Karo`s typical fruits as many of the citrus trees were old and suffering from diseases," Tarigan stated. In the meantime, Asiang, a local fruits merchant from the Medan Central Market pointed out that the supply of Karo`s citrus fruits had been limited because their production had been impacted by Mount Sinabung`s eruption. "The price of Karo`s citrus fruits has also shot up. It was being sold for Rp15,000 per kilogram, while its normal price was only Rp10,000 per kilogram," Asiang said. This latest eruption had caused the volcano to send a cloud of smoke up to 4,000 meters into the sky in the southerly and southwesterly directions. The volcano also spewed hot clouds, which spread over a 1.2 kilometer radius. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency's spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the hot clouds had claimed no lives, as residents living within a 3 kilometer radius had been evacuated to safer areas.