In the next few days, the Ministry of Agriculture will prepare an agreement with the representatives of Indonesia, who are staying in Belgrade, which will determine the export of corn, wheat and apples from Serbia to Indonesia, announced State Secretary Senad Mahmutović.
At the exhibition of Indonesian agricultural products, which is being held today in the TC Gallery in Belgrade, Mahmutović said that after the Summit of the Non-Aligned in Belgrade, numerous delegations are visiting Serbia and want to raise cooperation with our country to a higher level.
He pointed out that Serbia and Indonesia have good and friendly relations.
– The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of Serbia is currently hosting a delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture of Indonesia, a very important country for us, with which we have traditionally good bilateral and friendly relations – said Mahmutović.
He announced that meetings between the Minister of Agriculture, Branislav Nedimović, and the heads of the Indonesian delegation would be held in the next three days.
He stated that the goal of the negotiations is to achieve concrete agreements between the two countries, which will be in the interest of domestic farmers.
– These are topics on which we will discuss with them primarily the export and placement of wheat, corn and apples on the Indonesian market, and then other products from Serbia, such as meat and meat products – said the Secretary of State.
He assessed that it is very important for our country, because it is about Serbia entering the market of over 273 million inhabitants.
Mahmutović referred to the fact that guests from Indonesia had the opportunity to feel Serbia at the Ethno Food and Drink Fair yesterday and enjoy domestic products of our region, and added that today we can get acquainted with the products of their agricultural production that will evoke the tastes of Indonesia.
The exhibition entitled “One Day with Indonesian Coffee, Fruit and Floriculture (ODICOFF)” is organized by the relevant ministry in cooperation with PKS and the Embassy of Indonesia, and visitors have the opportunity to taste numerous products from this country, as well as opportunities for economic cooperation.
Interested fellow citizens can try Indonesian premium quality coffee, fruits, spices, flowers, processed food and many other agricultural products.
Also on display are products from organic body and hair care products, through sugar and coconut oil, dried banana, mango and papaya chips, all the way to exotic plants such as snake skin and dragon fruit.
In addition to the State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Mahmutović, the participants were greeted by the Ambassador of Indonesia in Belgrade, as well as the General Director of Horticulture of the Ministry of Agriculture of Indonesia, Prihasto Setianto.
A panel discussion on the potentials of mutual cooperation was held within the exhibition, and the Secretary of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Aleksandar Bogunović, said that the two countries presented what attracts them in the field of agriculture.
He stated that we import southern fruits from Indonesia, but that our markets are not mutually competitive, because we do not have the same offer.
– What they produce, we do not produce, and we import, for example, mango from Indonesia. The current annual exchange is around one million euros when it comes to fruit – said Bogunović and added that Serbia imports spices and cut flowers from this country.
He pointed out that Serbia is now in the process of introducing a phyto-sanitary certificate for the export of corn and wheat.
He explained that Serbia has a perspective in this large market to export frozen fruit.
Bogunovic also said that Indonesia is the fourth largest coffee producer in the world, but that the prices of their coffee are not attractive enough for Serbia, as well as that the transport of coffee is quite expensive due to the distance, eKapija reports.
