Andalusia Launches Bid to Capture Emerging Indonesian Market

Spanish offi­cials and seven of Andalusia’s lead­ing olive oil pro­duc­ers met Indonesian importers and dis­trib­u­tors to dis­cuss trade oppor­tu­ni­ties ear­lier this week.

At a series of vir­tual meet­ings and pre­sen­ta­tions, the Spanish Consul, Commercial Attaché, and Economic and Commercial Counsellor in Jakarta dis­cussed the health ben­e­fits and culi­nary val­ues of extra vir­gin olive oil with eight major Indonesian importers and dis­trib­u­tors.

The meet­ings and pre­sen­ta­tions were fol­lowed up with a demon­stra­tion by Spanish chef Oskar Urzelai, who pre­pared a ten-course menu that show­cased selected extra vir­gin olive oils in var­i­ous dishes to the importers and a small audi­ence of hotel man­agers, chefs and super­mar­ket pur­chas­ing man­agers.

Spanish offi­cials and pro­duc­ers took this unusual approach with the pri­mary aim of increas­ing demand for olive oil in the coun­try, high­light­ing its many culi­nary, nutri­tional and health prop­er­ties.

Among the groups in atten­dance was Extenda, the inter­na­tional devel­op­ment branch of the Andalusian provin­cial gov­ern­ment. The organization’s CEO, Arturo Bernal, empha­sized the impor­tance of the Indonesian mar­ket, which is the largest econ­omy of Southeast Asia and boasts a rapidly grow­ing mid­dle class.

“Among Indonesian con­sumers is a grow­ing con­cern about fol­low­ing a more bal­anced diet to help them pro­tect their health and they are find­ing the answer in the Mediterranean diet… and espe­cially in one of its star prod­ucts, extra vir­gin olive oil,” Bernal said.

The health ben­e­fits of extra vir­gin olive oil have recently been brought into sharper focus by the COVID-19 pan­demic, he added.

“We are fac­ing a very impor­tant mar­ket niche that we have to take advan­tage of from Andalusia, where we are world lead­ers in the export of olive oil thanks to an offer that com­bines qual­ity and inno­va­tion,” Bernal said. ​“In 2020, the autonomous com­mu­nity exported €2.252 bil­lion worth of olive oil, 76 per­cent of Spain’s total.”

Andalusia’s olive oil exports to Indonesia amounted to €2.1 mil­lion in 2020, rep­re­sent­ing 9.9 per­cent of all sales from the autonomous com­mu­nity to Southeast Asia. Overall, about 60 per­cent of olive oil sold in Indonesia comes from Andalusia.

Exports from Andalusia to the region totaled €23.3 mil­lion over the same period, with growth of 2.5‑percent com­pared to 2019. Indonesia is the fifth-largest mar­ket for Andalusian oil in the region, behind the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

Among edi­ble oils, sales of olive oil in the coun­try are pro­jected to be sec­ond only to palm oil by 2025.

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