U.S. pulses industry hopes to expand market in Indonesia
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Taking advantage of Indonesia's status as one of the largest markets for American agricultural products, the United States intends to expand its sales of pulses here.
To promote their products, the U.S.A. Dry Pea and Lentil Council and the U.S. Dry Bean Council held a two-day seminar recently to discuss affordable nutrition and product innovation based on U.S. pulses in Jakarta, inviting food processing industry executives from Indonesia and other ASEAN countries.
The council's Southeast Asia regional representative, Tim Welsh, said Indonesia is becoming a prospective market for U.S. dry peas, lentil and chickpeas.
"Indonesia is one of the largest countries in the world, but yet there is still a huge need here in terms of nutrition and advancement in the food industry. This is why the country is a great and pivotal place for the U.S., not only for our industry but also for our government," Tim said on the sidelines of the seminar.
The councils, said Tim, aimed to introduce pulses, also known as legumes, that could be processed and sold here in different ways, such as snacks and beverages.
"It would also lift the people's nutrition levels," Tim said, adding that pulses were high in protein, carbohydrates, fiber, folate (a natural form of folic acid), iron and potassium.
According to data from PT Jakarta Sereal, an importer of agricultural products, the snack industry's spending on peas as raw materials reached Rp 130 billion -- about 4 percent of its total raw materials costs -- in 2002.
Peter Klaiber of the U.S.A. Dry Pea and Lentil Council said that even though there was strong international competition in the markets for these commodities, his organization, which represents thousands of U.S. growers, processors, exporters and affiliated industries, was determined to expand its market share in Indonesia.
"Indonesia is not a big market for us yet, but the opportunity is there. We think the quality of our products fits well with the users, especially when nutrition sophistication is increasing in Indonesia. We'll find a better market for pulses here," the marketing director of the council said.
He said that the development of the products would be feasible as companies like PT Ultrajaya, PT Indofood, and PT Tiga Pilar Sejahtera already produced highly innovative products with sophisticated machinery.
"No huge investment is needed to produce these nutritional products. The machinery is here and the distribution network is there. All the processors need to do is to focus on tests of products so that they can get consumer acceptance here," said Kleiber. (006)