Aussie firms seek greater share of food market
Aussie firms seek greater share of food market
JAKARTA (JP): Several Australian companies and cooperatives are holding a three-day food festival here with a view to expanding their share of the rapidly-expanding foreign food market.
Senior Australian Trade Commissioner Bruce Wallace stated at the opening ceremony yesterday, which was also attended by Adiwarsita Adinegoro, a deputy chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), that Indonesian demand for Australian food has been increasing.
"We see the increasing number of middle class families as the potential buyers of imported food products," he said at the ceremony, which was held at Pondok Indah Mall in South Jakarta.
The festival, called "Quality Food from Natural Australia", is being organized by Clean Food Marketing Australia Limited, a joint venture between the Australian government and the Australian food industry.
The food festival, with 11 Australian companies and cooperatives pitching in, features dairy products, fresh and canned fruits, fresh meat, frozen cakes, sea-food products, canned fruit, baby foods, wines, milk products, jams, ice magic and toppings.
Major consumer
Australian Trade Commissioner Philip Thomason told The Jakarta Post that Indonesia is an important consumer of processed food and beverage products from Australia.
"Australia mostly export meat, dairy products and perishable produce to Indonesia," he said.
He pointed out that with the increasing expansion of modern retailing and the growing interest in Western convenience type products on the part of Indonesian consumers, demand for quality processed food products -- from local and foreign sources -- will continue to increase.
Fresh fruit imported by Indonesia from Australia include mandarins, apples, pears, grapes and niche products such as blueberries.
"Already, several Australian companies are working together with Indonesian partners to produce food products in Indonesia for the local market and for exports," Thomason said, adding that such ventures include the local manufacture of biscuits, cooking oils and fresh fruit juices.
According to the latest data from Austrade, Indonesia's import of unprocessed food from Australia had been increasing during the period of 1992 to 1994. In 1992, the import was recorded at A$36.04 million (US$6.21 million). It increased to A$68.16 million in 1993 and to A$98.37 million in 1994.
During the same period, Indonesia also saw its import of processed food from Australia increasing from A$101.07 million in 1992 to A$174.62 million in 1993 and to A$231.38 million in 1994.
Asked by reporters on Indonesian efforts to reduce consumer goods imports, Adiwarsita Adinegoro said that the Indonesian government cannot simply ask consumers not to buy imported products.
"We have to commit ourselves to the free market principle as adopted by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and the World Trade Organization (WTO) as well as in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)," he pointed out.
The Indonesian government recently announced its' intention to reduce the rate of its import growth, particularly that of consumer goods, from more than 30 percent last year to about 11 percent in an effort to reduce its current account deficit during the next (1996/1997) fiscal year.
Indonesia estimates its current account deficit to reach US$7.9 billion in the current fiscal year to March. (13)