EIGHTEEN exhibitors from Indonesia displayed different Indonesian products during the first three-day Indonesian Food and Beverage Expo which opened at the House of Indonesia, Juna Subdivision Friday, March 17 and will last until Sunday, March 19.
Berlian Napitupulu, Consulate General for Indonesia, said the idea for the food and beverage expo started when he found out through his various visits in the different provinces in Mindanao that Indonesian food products are already available in the Philippines but are channeled through a third country.
He said it was strange for him because the Philippines will have to shoulder more cost which increases the price of the Indonesian products.
Napitupulu also said the objective of the expo is for Indonesian products to be more known in the Philippines and for it to rank higher in terms of being Indonesia’s import partner.
As of 2015, the total trade between the two countries is only around 0.41 percent. Also in the same year, Indonesia ranked 9th as the import partner of Philippines, much lower than Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore.
“For the whole of 2017, we’ll make at least eleven 'noises.' We have already committed with the city administration that on Kadayawan, we will participate,” the consulate general said.
The expo does not only showcase the different Indonesian products, a one-on-one business matching, arts and cultural performances, and tourism promotion will also take place in the venue for three days. These will all be focused on the increasing economic and trade relation and the people-to-people contact of the two countries.
Some of the products displayed during the exhibit were coffee, tea, noodles, biscuits, healthy drinks, Bali wine, and Bali chocolates. There were brands displayed that are already familiar to the Filipino groceries including Kopiko, Fres, Diabetasol, Sosro, and Benecol among others.
Napitupulu said they intended to not put the exhibit in the mall since they not only target individual grocery shoppers but also cater to wholesalers or those who are interested to re-sell the items. He added this is where the business matching will come in.
With the launching of the Davao-Gensan-Bitung sea route on April, the consulate general said it would be easier for trading of the showcased products.
“I believe that this expo and other activities can help in the positive impact for the launching of Roro next month,” he said.