Citrus Australia continues to campaign for improved access into the Indonesian market, following its participation in a high-level agriculture delegation to the South East Asian nation.
The peak industry body’s market access manager, David Daniels, joined representatives from the Australian grain, meat, livestock and sugar industries in Jakartalast week.
The delegates were on hand to lend support to Australian agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce, who held meetings with several senior Indonesian government authorities.
“Aside from the grain industry, which is experiencing significant competitive pressures, all industries are experiencing regulatory issues, namely insufficient quota allocations,” Daniels explained.
While delegates were not privy to Joyce’s meetings, Daniels said the trip provided an opportunity for the citrus industry to highlight its desire for more amicable trade conditions.
“We understand that minister Joyce had some very positive dialogue with his counterparts in the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture,” Daniels said. “Most importantly for us, it gave us the opportunity to engage with the minister and his staff about the importance of the export trade to Indonesia.”
Joyce and Daniels also took the opportunity to visit a number of leading retailers across Jakarta, where there was plenty of Australian citrus on display.
“Out-turn quality this year has been fantastic and the mandarins the Minister saw were nothing short of sensational,” Daniels added.
