Saudi Arabia Bans Indonesian Poultry Imports; Agriculture Minister Amran: We'll Send Processed Products

JAKARTA — Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has stated that the government will promote the export of processed poultry products, such as nuggets, to Saudi Arabia.

This shift follows the Saudi Arabian government’s ban on imports of poultry and eggs from 40 countries, including Indonesia.

“The ban applies to poultry, but not to processed products,” Amran said during a meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture office in Jakarta on Tuesday, 3 March 2026.

Amran expressed that he is actually grateful for Saudi Arabia’s policy, as it encourages Indonesia to export processed chicken products such as nuggets instead. Raw chicken meat for export is priced at approximately 30,000 rupiah per kilogram, whereas processed products like nuggets can fetch around 60,000 rupiah.

“If I export raw chicken, the price is about 30,000 rupiah per kilogram. For finished products, how many times more is that? Double. Double. Which would you choose? Export,” Amran said.

“We are actually grateful because Saudi Arabia banned live poultry. This (nugget) I can send. Is 60,000 rupiah or 30,000 rupiah better?” he added.

According to Amran, Saudi Arabia’s policy banning poultry and egg imports from Indonesia will have no impact on the domestic poultry industry. Rather, the policy could stimulate downstream processing of livestock products, in line with President Prabowo Subianto’s directive.

Downstream processing of livestock and agricultural products, Amran noted, can create economic value many times over. “Downstream processing means transforming raw materials into finished products, which increases value by 100 percent and that is our objective,” he said.

Examples such as cocoa and coconut processing have demonstrated the creation of significantly higher economic value. Therefore, the government continues to encourage domestic entrepreneurs to export processed products rather than raw agricultural and livestock materials.