"The Indonesian government has facilitated 20 Indonesian food and beverage industry enterprises that occupy 20 booths at the Indonesian Pavilion, with a total area of 202.5 square meters," Director General of Agro Industry at the ministry Putu Juli Ardika said in a statement released in Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday.
The Indonesian businesses are promoting products ranging from tea and coffee, processed coconut, health drinks, snacks, biscuits, processed fruit, processed fish, and seaweed.
The ministry's participation in 2022 SIAL Paris has been supported by collaboration between the ministry's directorates, including the directorate of food, marine products and fisheries; directorate of beverage, tobacco products, and refreshments; directorate of access to industrial resources and international promotion; and the Paris trade attaché.
"We hope that Indonesia's participation in SIAL Paris 2022 will not only bring Indonesian food and beverage products closer to the European community, but also to the global community, since 2022 SIAL Paris is attended by entrepreneurs and visitors from all over the world," he remarked.
Ardika said food and beverage is an important sector that has supported the performance of the non-oil and gas processing industry, as the food and beverage industry contributed more than a third or 38.38 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the non-oil and gas processing industry until the second quarter of 2022.
"The food and beverage industry was also able to grow positively by 3.68 percent in the second quarter of 2022, and higher than the second quarter of the previous year, which reached 2.95 percent," he noted.
He informed that its participation in the 2022 SIAL Paris exhibition is expected to improve the performance of the food and beverage industry, which, in turn, would also contribute significantly to the national economy.
He said he expects the event to serve as a platform for participants from Indonesia to attract prospective clients and establish mutually beneficial cooperations.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Ambassador to France, Mohamad Oemar, said he expects their participation in the event to improve relations between Indonesia and France.
"Through the 2022 SIAL Paris exhibition, it is expected that the flavors of Indonesia will be increasingly recognized by the French, European, and the world (consumers),” he remarked.
In 2018, the exhibition, which is hosted every two years, attracted 155,700 visitors from 194 countries. The 2022 iteration was the first since the pandemic.
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Translator: Sella P G, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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