Strengthening Spice Market Access in Europe, Indonesia and Dutch Importers Explore Business Collaboration

Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade, through the Trade Attaché (Atdag) in The Hague and the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague, visited one of the spice importers in the Netherlands, Unispices Wazaran BV in Hoofdorp, on 23 February 2026. This visit aims to continue promoting the strengthening of market access for Indonesian spices and food in the European Union, increasing the added value of domestic products, and encouraging increased Dutch investment in Indonesia. “Indonesian spice products have very large expansion opportunities in Europe. The implementation of the Indonesia-EU Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Indonesia-EU CEPA) in the future can reduce tariffs and further facilitate market access. Unispices Wazaran BV in the Netherlands is a potential partner, which not only focuses on spices but also processed horticulture and fishery products to Europe,” said Atdag RI in The Hague, Annisa Hapsari, in her statement quoted on Friday. Sari said the government is committed to facilitating Indonesian business actors to partner with buyers in Europe. “We will continue to assist business partners, including farmers and cooperatives, through exploring product sourcing opportunities, developing business cooperation, to enhancing the potential for spice processing in Indonesia,” said Sari. The government also supports domestic business partners to enter Europe with value-added products. Unispices Wazaran BV is a multidimensional company operating in the trading, processing of spices, catering services, and marketing of food products. As a business unit of the Saudi-based Wazaran Group, the company applies an integrated business model, from sourcing raw materials and packaging in Indonesia, to testing quality standards and regulatory compliance in the Netherlands. To date, Unispices Wazaran BV has sourced spice raw materials from areas such as Central Java and East Java. In addition to spices, Unispices Wazaran BV is also developing the potential of mushroom products from Central Java and East Java as well as premium tuna products from North Sulawesi. Sari conveyed that the track record of product sourcing carried out by Unispices Wazaran BV is concrete evidence of international market trust in the quality of Indonesian raw materials. However, she also reminded domestic business actors to continue improving to maintain that trust. “This trust must be answered with strengthening standardisation, traceability, and strict quality control domestically,” explained Sari. Meanwhile, Managing Director of Unispices Wazaran BV, Heykal Balbaid, said his company is open to making direct purchases from farmers or cooperatives in Indonesia in an effort to shorten the supply chain. In addition, the company is also exploring joint venture cooperation opportunities with Indonesian partners to expand the market to the Netherlands and the European Union, as well as considering increasing processing activities in Indonesia with support for incentives and regulatory certainty. “Indonesia has good product quality and availability of raw materials. To be competitive, Indonesian products need to maintain supply stability, quality standardisation, and improve logistics efficiency. In addition, harmonisation of standards and acceleration of certification processes will also greatly support smooth exports,” said Heykal. Throughout 2025, total trade between Indonesia and the Netherlands was recorded at US$6.58 billion. Indonesia’s exports to the Netherlands amounted to US$5.69 billion and imports from the Netherlands amounted to US$888.2 million. In the same year, total Indonesian spice exports to the Netherlands were recorded at US$34.32 million.