The Australian Horticulture Exporters’ Association (AHEA) has ensured that Australian horticultural industries were well represented in Jakarta during the recent Australia-Indonesia Business Week. 

Dominic Jenkin

The trade mission, led by Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Steve Ciobo, brought together Australian and Indonesian business leaders, industry and government to strengthen trade ties between the two countries.

A discussion forum convened by Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister, Luke Hartsuyker, and some of Indonesia’s leading fresh produce importers, specifically discussed the current trading environment and opportunities to improve market share for Australian fruits and vegetables.

AHEA CEO Dominic Jenkin said the talks were invaluable for building stronger ties and increasing greater understanding of the burgeoning Indonesian market.

Indonesia was Australia’s third largest market for fresh fruit exports in 2015-16 with the volume of product in this market growing by 18% from 2014-15 to a value of over AUD$88 million (US$67.8 million).

Pear and lemon exports have largely driven the growth in this market with the volume of trade more than doubling for these products. Other citrus exports, namely oranges and mandarins saw declines of more than 30%, primarily the result of challenging trading conditions.

“Import permit restrictions have severely disrupted trade and AHEA hopes that the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, currently under negotiation, is able to resolve some of these issues.” Jenkin said.

“This will be vital to improve the stability of the relationship, and give businesses the security to further invest in this market.”

Vegetable exports to Indonesia, by comparison, achieved modest growth growing 6% in volume to over 5,000 metric tons (MT) and a value of AUD$6.5 million (US$5 million).

The trade of carrots was boosted by a temporary block on imports from China. This saw the trade increase from 100MT to more than 2,000MT by the end of 2015-16.  

However, such growth was not proven to be sustainable as the importation of Australian carrots rapidly declined following the reinstatement of imports from China.

“It is vital that Australia retains its discipline in this market and ensures that despite the difficulties and increasing international competition, that Indonesian consumers are consistently supplied with high quality Australian fresh fruit and vegetables,” Jenkin said.

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