Jakrata: Indonesia wants to increase access to Saudi Arabia for its food exports in order to take advantage of export opportunities.

In April, the Indonesian Food and Drug Agency and the Saudi Food and Drug Authority met at a high level and decided to strengthen their partnership and increase trade in food and pharmaceuticals between their two nations.

According to the Indonesian Food and Drug Agency, also known locally by the abbreviation BPOM, "With a smoother regulatory process and ease of access, Indonesian food firms can expand their market share to Saudi Arabia,"

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According to BPOM, "this can accelerate economic growth in the two nations and broaden economic ties between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia."

BPOM Head Penny K. Lukito and SFDA CEO Hisham bin Saad Al-Jadhey presided over the meeting in Riyadh as part of a trip aimed at facilitating access to Indonesian food products.

Following Zulkifli Hasan, Indonesia's trade minister, who also met with Al-Jadhey in an effort to increase Indonesian food exports to the Kingdom, Lukito's trip to the country was part of a trade mission.

Given the sizeable portion of the market occupied by Indonesian umrah and Hajj pilgrims, BPOM stated that the export potential for Indonesian food products to Saudi Arabia is enormous.

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Each year, tens of thousands of Indonesian pilgrims go to Saudi Arabia. The largest Muslim-majority nation in the world was given a quota of 221,000 pilgrims for the Hajj this year, with an additional 675,000 people expected to make the Umrah pilgrimage.

In order to further tap into the larger consumer market in the Kingdom, BPOM claimed that this particular group alone provides a captive market for Indonesian food products.

The agency stated that in addition to Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, Saudi locals and the Saudi diaspora could be potential customers for Indonesian food products.

Lukito also suggested a mutual recognition agreement between the two agencies during her meeting with Al-Jadhey.

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According to BPOM, the Saudi counterpart will soon visit Indonesia for an on-site inspection visit that will lay the groundwork for the proposed arrangement.

"BPOM and SFDA have decided to keep advancing their cooperation and push for even greater trade in food and medicine between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia."