The Embassy of Poland and the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture have discussed on the opportunity to add apples and beef to their list of agrifood exports. There is a significant potential increase in the bilateral trade between the two countries, particularly in the agrifood industry.
“We are happy that we have concluded [negotiations] for access of Polish apples to Indonesia. We hope that [Polish apples] will soon be available here,” Deputy Head of Mission at the Polish Embassy in Jakarta, Piotr Firlus, said in a press conference on February 16, 2023.
According to data from the Polish government, the total exports from Poland to Indonesia amounted to US$ 107 million in 2021. However, Indonesia’s exports to Poland were valued at over US$ 1 billion in the same year, indicating a tenfold difference between the two countries.
Poland is the largest apple producer in Europe, responsible for producing 24% of the fruit in the region. In 2021, Poland exported 860,000 tons of apples worth US$ 330 million. The embassy’s information suggests that Belarus is currently the largest market for Polish apple exports, although Asian countries like China, India, Vietnam and Singapore have also been purchasing Polish apples, Jakarta Globe reported.
Fruit imports to Indonesia
These are the list of the majority of fruit imports on the country of origin in Indonesia from 2017-2021:
Data from the Statistics Indonesia (BPS) on fruit imports revealed that majority of fruits from 2017 to 2021 came from China, the United States, Thailand, Australia and Pakistan, shedding light on the trends and patterns of fruit imports to Indonesia.
The data shows that China is the largest supplier of fruit to Indonesia, with the total import value reaching over US$ 1 billion in 2021. The US is the second-largest supplier, followed by Thailand, Australia and Pakistan.
Opportunity for Poland to export beef to Indonesia
Poland may have another opportunity to export agrifood products, specifically beef. According to Firlus, 92% of Polish beef exports are currently being sold within the European Union and this success is due to the competitive prices of live cattle in Poland.
“We began the consultations for beef in 2018. We are still in contact with the [Indonesian] agriculture ministry to this day,” Firlus said. “Aside from beef and apples, we are waiting for the final confirmation for blueberries.”
At this time, Poland’s agrifood exports to Indonesia consist of cheese and processed foods like cookies.
Beef imports to Indonesia
According to the BPS data on beef imports, Indonesia mostly import beef from the US, New Zealand, Australia, India and Spain from 2017 to 2021. There has been a steady increase in beef imports to Indonesia during this period.
The data suggests that there is a growing demand for beef in Indonesia, which presents an opportunity for these countries to increase their exports to the Southeast Asian nation.
Data from the government revealed that the beef per capita consumption in 2022 would reach 2.57 per kg per year, an increase from the 2021 consumption at 2.46 per kg per year, bisnis.com reported on January 13, 2022. Meanwhile, the population would also increase from 272.24 million in 2021 to 274.85 million in 2022 so that the demand for meat would increase from 669,731 tons to 706,388 tons.
