Horticultural priority for Indonesian Government

The horticultural sector is one of the priority sectors for the Indonesian government. It wants to redirect the daily intake of rice to a healthier, more diverse diet. The required innovation of the horticultural sector can only be achieved with foreign input. In the coming years, Indonesian authorities mean to accomplish these and other tasks by further developing cooperation with foreign agencies, in particular the Dutch government, industry and science. The agricultural sector will busy itself with lifting barriers compounding international investments.



Indonesia’s agricultural sector is economically important. The area for vegetables (including potatoes) is 1.1 million hectares. The importance of the horticultural sector has increased significantly in recent years, and production acreage has grown considerably. Thus, the production of fruits and vegetables increased from 20 million tons in 2000 to 30 million tons in 2010. However, the consumption of horticultural products is still low. The fruit consumption is only 32 kg / person per year and vegetable consumption 40 kg / person per year. Indonesia could easily be self-sufficient, and yet many fresh produce is imported. The last five years imports even increased with 22% to 15%. On the other hand, Indonesia is the sixth largest exporter of tropical fruit with an export value of nearly € 2.56 billion.

With increased prosperity, the demand for quality products in Indonesia is rapidly expanding. For the Dutch agribusiness this means there are a lot of opportunities. The lack of raw vegetable material, knowledge and technology is great.

Fruit and vegetable trade Netherlands and Indonesia

To Holland, Indonesia is a major export destination, taking in 15,000 tons of Dutch onions annually. It represents a market of 3 to 5 million Euro, depending on the price. Recently, cooperation between the two nations has strengthened due to the 2012 Floriade Fair, which included a special Indonesia pavilion where nature, horticulture, culture and tradition of this country were the central exhibition.