VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Ambassador to Japan, Heri Akhmadi, presented the 2024 Primaduta Award to APP Japan Limited at the Indonesian Ambassador's Residence in Tokyo, Thursday (11/21/2024).

The Primaduta Award is an annual award given by the Indonesian Minister of Trade to importers of Indonesian products abroad. This award is given as a form of appreciation for the contribution of importers in promoting Indonesian products and improving the quality of Indonesian products and human resources.

APP Japan Limited successfully beat 171 companies selected in the Performance Importer category from a total of 335 companies that registered to receive the 2024 Primaduta Award. The assessment was carried out by 20 related Ministries and Institutions in Indonesia. The assessment not only covers the value of product imports from Indonesia, but also in terms of compliance with the requirements for product import acceptance that apply in the Japanese market.

In an official statement, Ambassador Heri Akhmadi hopes this achievement can be maintained and continuously improved. He also hopes this spirit can be transmitted to other importers of Indonesian products in Japan, including Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

The Ambassador also conveyed the commitment of the Indonesian government to support business actors in strengthening economic relations, especially trade between Indonesia and Japan, through the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo.

In the statement, it was stated APP Japan's performance is real evidence of the economic diplomacy efforts of the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo in maintaining the positive export performance of Indonesian paper and tissue products in Japan. Based on existing data, currently, Indonesian paper and tissue products, through APP Japan, are able to control more than 20 percent of the market share in Japan, with an average import value of 300 million US dollars per year.

In the presentation of the 2024 Primaduta Award, Director of Market Development and Export Information, Ministry of Trade of Indonesia, Arief Wibisono, revealed APP Japan Limited successfully won the award not only because of the continuously positive import value aspect but also for its commitment in maintaining the existence of Indonesian products in the Japanese market.

APP Japan Limited is a company that started as a subsidiary of Sinar Mas Group Indonesia and has been present in Japan for the past 30 years. In addition to APP Japan Limited, a subsidiary, Universal Paper Co. Ltd., was also established, which focuses on selling tissue products and is now coloring the market in Japan.

Representative Director of APP Japan Limited, Tan Ui Sian, said one of the keys for APP Japan's imported products to survive in the Japanese market is a brand image that is strengthened by real contributions to help preserve forests in Indonesia. According to him, this effort can increase the trust of Japanese consumers to continue buying paper and tissue products from Indonesia.

Since 2010, APP Japan together with its main retail partner in Japan, Askul, has launched the 1 Box 2 Trees program, where for every sale of 1 box of paper products, APP will plant 2 tree seedlings to support sustainable forest conservation. This commitment continued in 2020, where APP Japan, in collaboration with the Belantara Foundation, launched the Forest Restoration program and invited all Japanese distributor/retailer partners to contribute to this program.