ID FOOD Working on Potential Food Business Cooperation with the United States

JAKARTA - Holding BUMN Food ID FOOD continues to open opportunities for export of food commodities. This is an effort to boost the company's competitiveness and business scale to the global level.

This was conveyed by the Main Director of ID FOOD Frans Marganda Tambunan when receiving a visit from a delegation from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), Tuesday, August 8, at the Waskita Rajawali Tower, Jakarta. According to him, one of the efforts to increase export opportunities for food commodities and products is through strategic partnerships with agricultural associations of export destination countries.

"During the visit of the NASDA leadership and delegation to the ID FOOD office, it is hoped that it will further strengthen and open up new opportunities for cooperation in the food sector between Indonesia and the United States," he said.

Frans said the two sides discussed a number of trading opportunities for various commodities, ranging from beef, grand parent stock chicken, dairy products, to fisheries.

"Since it was formed as a BUMN Food Holding, ID FOOD has an increasingly diverse business portfolio. Many of them are commodities that have the opportunity to be exported, such as fishery commodities such as tuna and octopus which are managed by PT Perikanan Indonesia. In addition, coffee and seaweed commodities are managed by PT Indonesian Trading Company (PPI) also continues to develop the export market," he explained.

In 2023, ID FOOD fishery commodities such as tuna have recorded an export volume of 406 metric tons (MT), while for octopus it is 294 MT. Exports of fishery commodities target a number of large consuming countries, such as Japan and the United States.

As for the coffee commodity, in 2023 ID FOOD has recorded exports of 100 MT with Egypt as one of its destinations. Meanwhile, for seaweed in 2023, as much as 900 MT has been exported.

"Most recently, PPI members of ID Food released the export of seaweed, the type of seaweed eucheuma spinosum, to China last July," added Frans.

"The export volume is what has been realized throughout 2023, so that by the end of the year there is still a chance to increase. We will continue to push, considering that this is part of ID FOOD's contribution to increasing the competitiveness of national food products in foreign markets. It is hoped that through collaboration with domestic and foreign stakeholders, the export rate for local food products will continue to increase," he explained.

During the meeting, Frans also emphasized that in the future it is important to continue to maintain and build good trade relations between Indonesia and the United States.

"This is in line with one of the visions and objectives of establishing a BUMN Food Holding which was sparked by BUMN Minister Erick Thohir, which is to create a world-class national food company," he said.

Meanwhile, Director of Business Development and Management of ID FOOD Dirgayuza Setiawan said, apart from food commodities, a number of strategic projects and company assets also have the potential for cooperation. This includes investment projects to increase ID FOOD's ability to maintain Indonesia's food security. Such as the plan to develop various infrastructures to support the production and distribution of food commodities through funding cooperation, operational cooperation and other forms.

"We also convey opportunities for cooperation in utilizing ID FOOD assets which are spread throughout Indonesia which have various functions ranging from offices, warehousing, to land that can be developed. It is hoped that this collaboration can bring in foreign investment considering the potential for the food business is still very large and open in Indonesia," he said.

Meanwhile, NASDA CEO Ted McKinney said this visit was an excellent opportunity to establish relations with Indonesia. He also expressed his interest in learning what SOEs in Indonesia are like compared to SOEs in other countries.

"On this occasion the NASDA delegation was interested in further exploring the scope of the ID FOOD business and also the landscape of the food industry in Indonesia. Both parties also expressed their hopes for a business relationship to take place," concluded Frans.

The visit was part of the agenda of the NASDA Trade Delegation in Indonesia in August 2023. Present on the occasion were the US Dairy Export Council, President and CEO of Foreign Agricultural Service Krysta Harden, Secretary of the States Department of Agriculture, and representatives of the United States Embassy for Indonesia.

The NASDA is the association that brings together the United States Department of Agriculture. The association's strategic roles, founded in 1916, include strengthening communities working in America's food and agriculture sectors through policy, partnerships, and public engagement.