Tauke and Emotional Network Model in Oil Palm Marketing: Getting Fresh Fruit from Smallholders in Indonesia

This article describes how fresh fruit bunches grown by oil palm smallholders are incorporated into oil palm marketing models in Indonesia. This emotional network marketing model is a supplementary model of marketing models in Malaysia which is called factory centered and middleman model. This research uses a descriptive qualitative method. The data was collected by conducted in-depth interviews with 28 informants coming from 4 (four) categories of oil palm smallholders: oil palm tauke (middleman) that included big tauke and small tauke, workers in the loading ramps, and workers in the oil palm factories who were involved in oil palm marketing channels. The result of the research showed that the oil palm marketing channel between smallholders and either small tauke and big tauke was based on an emotional network with a strong bond of friendship, brotherhood, dwelling location, cash payment, giving loan with reasonable requirements, and providing transportation for fresh fruit bunches. In contrast, oil palm marketing channel among smallholders, loading ramp buyers, and POF was based on regulations. This writing presented a different perspective of oil palm marketing channels in general by involving the emotional network of the existing actors for getting fresh fruit bunches and the advantages of oil palm marketing. In this marketing model, there is a longer marketing channel and actors with their varied roles.