Auckland, New Zealand (ANTARA) - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, on Thursday, highlighted that animal and spice products have the potential to bolster bilateral trade between Indonesia and New Zealand.

During his visit to the Taylor Preston meat processing and export company in Ngauranga Gorge, Wellington, Amin stated that New Zealand's trade potential lies in halal beef and lamb and their derivative products, such as cheese and milk.

"Apart from beef, other products (of New Zealand) with huge potential are cheese and milk. Meanwhile, (one of) our potential products are spices,” the vice president stated in response to questions about bilateral trade potentials between Indonesia and New Zealand.

He noted that the exports of Taylor Preston, one of the beef exporters of New Zealand, to Indonesia reached an average of 16 percent from their annual production of 1.2 million lambs, sheep, and cows.

Beef and its derivative products originating in New Zealand are also exported to Indonesia by other producers, the vice president added.

Meanwhile, Amin remarked that in return, Indonesia has a diverse number of spices that can be exported to New Zealand to fulfil the demand for cooking spices and animal feed in the Pacific country.

Indonesian spices remain popular and attractive to the global community, as shown by the increasing exports of spices, such as pepper, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the country's spice exports during the January-November 2023 period had reached 148.22 thousand tons valued at US$564.12 million.

However, the balance of trade between Indonesia and New Zealand decreased by 18.82 percent to US$1,728 million in 2023 after recording US$2,128.7 million in exports in 2022.

Apart from promoting bilateral trade, Amin's visit to New Zealand from February 25 to March 2, 2024, is also to encourage cultural and religious cooperation.

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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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