Indonesia says it will regulate cultivation, export of herbal kratom products

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia said on Thursday it would start regulating the cultivation and export of kratom, a substance that advocates say can help ease pain alongside other benefits, but is listed in the U.S. as a drug of concern.

The controls on the native Southeast Asian tree leaves would improve quality, the president's chief of staff, Moeldoko, told reporters. "A number of our exporters faced rejections because their products had been contaminated," he said.

People in the Indonesian part of Borneo island have been growing and consuming kratom for generations, using it as a traditional treatment for a range ailments.

The leaves, which are also grown, sold and exported across the region, have been used in products that promise to ease pain, anxiety and depression and to help people cope with opioid use disorder and opioid withdrawal.

But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said kratom has similar effects to narcotics such as opioids, has listed it as a "drug and chemical of concern" and has not approved it for any medical use.

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has instructed the national research agency BRIN to look into the consumption of kratom, especially its dosage, Moeldoko said.

Under the planned new regulations, the government would also limit the number of companies allowed to export kratom in a bid to keep up standards, he added.

Asked about prohibition of kratom use in a number of countries, Moeldoko said at least 20 markets were interested in importing Indonesian kratom.

(Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Adrew Heavens)