International Journal of Science and Applied Technology IJSAT, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2019 https://ijsat.unri.ac.id 34 Marketing Efficiency of Aloe Vera Leaf and Efficiency of Nata de Aloe Beverage Processing in Pekanbaru City Yeni Kusumawaty 1* , Evy Maharani 1 , Susy Edwina 1 , Tengku Harunur Rasyid 2 1 Agribusiness Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Riau, Indonesia 2 Research and Development Agency, The City Government of Pekanbaru, Indonesia yeni.kusumawaty@lecturer.unri.ac.id *Corresponding Author Abstract: Aloe vera farming carried out by farmer groups in Maharatu Village, Marpoyan Damai Sub-district, Pekanbaru City is quite efficient and provides additional income to farmers, but it is expected that the added value can be increased by processing the Aloe vera leaf into beverage products including nata de aloe drinks. Thus, an agribusiness system development strategy is needed to increase the income of Aloe vera farmers. Therefore, the research aimed to identify marketing efficiency of fresh aloe vera leaf and efficiency of aloe vera drinks processing. The method applied in this study was survey method with farmers and processor of aloe vera drink as the respondents. The results of research showed that: (1) in general, farmers sell fresh Aloe vera leaf directly to consumers who came to their farm with marketing efficiency of 2.5 percent; (2) the problems encountered by aloe vera farmers in selling fresh Aloe vera leaf were that the absorption of the market was still low, as well as the lack of promotion efforts conducted by farmers; (3) processing of aloe vera drinks (nata de aloe) resulted in a gross income of IDR 300,000 with a profit of IDR 69,500 and RCR value of 1.30 and (4) Break-even Point (BEP) analysis for Aloe vera drink processing showed that production-based BEP was 115 cups of nata de aloe and price-based BEP was IDR 1536.67 per cup nata de aloe. Keywords: Aloe vera, nata de aloe, soft drink, agroindustry, marketing. 1. Introduction The role of agroindustry as an agent of rural development and employment creation has been recognized in developing countries, and there is great potential to develop food processing industries in rural areas. However, this sector faces tough challenges including costly raw material, supply chain inefficiencies, and market access problems [3]. Agroindustry is an activity that utilizes agricultural products as raw materials, designs and provides equipment and services for these activities. The process used includes conversion and preservation through physical or chemical treatment, storage, packaging and distribution. Agroindustry products can be final products that are ready to be consumed or as other industrial raw material products [5]. Agro-based industry development must be supported by the availability of sufficient amounts of raw material of the desired quality in order to achieve the continuity of processing industry [16]. One of the potential commodities to be developed into agroindustry main products is aloe vera. Aloe vera has great potential as ingredients for agroindustry because this plant is rich in nutrition and carbohydrate as a source of energy. In Aloe vera farms involving farmers, it is the flow of money and labor. Upstream, aloe vera farming requires the production of raw materials while downstream aloe vera farm is supplier for the aloe vera processing industry. Simultaneously, all these activities can increase income and absorb local labor so that it has the potential to develop the local economy. In Maharatu Village, Marpoyan Damai District, Pekanbaru City, Riau Province, aloe vera cultivation has been carried out by farmers groups since 2007. The area of aloe vera cultivation is approximately 0.25 ha with production per week reaching 100-150 kg at a price of IDR 4,000 per kg. In 2009, the production of aloe vera in this area started to decline with a production of fresh leaf was only around 50 kg per week. This happened because of limited market access by farmer groups in Maharatu Village so that the volume and sales area of fresh Aloe vera leaf were still limited. When the research was carried out the aloe vera leaf produced was not processed into ready-to-consumed products. As a result, Aloe vera agribusiness has not succeeded in distributing added value optimally and proportionally, so that its contribution to farmers' income has not been significant.