JAKARTA: Indonesia is eyeing easier access to Saudi Arabia for the export of its food products as the country hopes to exploit major export opportunities.
The food and Drug Agency of Indonesia held a high-level dialogue with the officials of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority in Riyadh last month, where both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation, and mutual engagements and expand trade between the two countries in food and medicines.
“Having a smoother regulatory process and ease of access, food firms from Indonesia can expand their market share to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the Indonesian Food and Drug Agency (Loccaly known as BPOM) told Arab News.
The Agency added that the new development could increase economic growth in both countries and could boost economic cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.
The meeting in Riyadh was led by SFDA CEO Hisham bin Saad Al-Jadhey and BPOM Head Penny K. Lukito in the context of a visit related to easing access of Indonesian food products to the Kingdom.
Lukito’s visit followed an Indonesian trade mission led by Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan in January this year, who also met with Al-Jadhey in a bid to enhance Indonesian food exports to Saudi Arabia.
Food export market in Indonesia
“Indonesian food products have an attractive export value to Saudi Arabia, particularly considering the large share of the market of Indonesian Umrah and Hajj pilgrims,” BPOM said.
Every year, hundreds and thousands of pilgrims from Indonesia travel to Saudi Arabia. This year, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country has allotted 221,000 Hajj pilgrim quota, with about 675,000 others estimated to perform the Umrah.
This group alone offers a handsome market for Indonesian food products, BPOM said, as it hopes to have further access to the larger consumer market in the Kingdom.
The agency further said that besides Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, there are Saudi local citizens and another diaspora who are preferable consumers of Indonesian food products.
BPOM is expecting the head of the Saudi Food Department to pay an on-site inspection visit to Indonesia in the coming days, which would lay the foundation for the proposed arrangement.
