VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian government is targeting Saudi Arabia to spur food and beverage exports. One of the efforts was through a recently held webinar on "Enhancing Indonesian Food Export to Saudi Arabia". Indonesian Consul General in Jeddah, Eko Hartono in the webinar said that Saudi Arabia is a potential market for Indonesian products. Business players are expected to actively seek export market opportunities by continuing to communicate with Indonesian representatives in Saudi Arabia. Eko Hartono hopes that this webinar will not only add insight into business actors regarding trade opportunities and regulation in Saudi Arabia, but also become a bridge to explore agreements.

Director General of National Export Development, Kasan who was also present at this webinar said that Saudi Arabia is one of the entrances for Indonesian products to explore the market in the bay area. With a population of more than 30 million people, and more than 10 million hajj and umrah pilgrims who are almost certain each year, Saudi Arabia is a special market segment that Indonesian entrepreneurs need to pay attention to. According to Kasan, another thing that made Saudi Arabia a potential market for Indonesia is the consumption pattern of its people. Consumption of Saudi Arabian society which is now quite high and increasing makes it one of the promising markets for various food products from Indonesia.

On the same occasion, Indonesian Trade Attaché in Riyadh, Erwansyah said that the current regulation on food imports in Saudi Arabia is experiencing dynamic changes. Every food company, especially those related to chicken, meat and fish needs to be registered and conducts a self assessment. In addition, the company must coordinate with the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency that has cooperated with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority. However, according to Erwansyah, the dynamics of changing the rules are a positive challenge for entrepreneurs in Indonesia. If Indonesian entrepreneurs can penetrate the Saudi Arabian market, it will certainly be easier to penetrate into other neighboring countries in the region. The webinar was attended by 252 participants consisting of business actors and government elements of the two countries.