REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MATARAM -- Indonesia's Horticulture Processing Association (Aspehorti) has signed an agreement with Singaporean company My Outlets and PT Rumah Pikat for marketing of horticultural products.
At the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the cooperation here on Saturday, the general chairman of Aspehorti, Umar Faruq Khirid, said that he hoped the cooperation agreement could increase marketing of horticultural products to a number of countries in Asia and others.
The signing ceremony was attended by deputy minister of agriculture Rusman Heriawan, the director general of marketing of processed agricultural products, Yusni Emilia Harahap and the secretary of the West Nusa Tenggara provincial administration, Muhammad Nur.
"Our prime products will be marketed through My Outlets and God willing they will spread to other markets in Singapore, China and others," Umar said.
He hoped that the country's horticultural products would reach even European and US markets in view of the fact that Singapore has so far become a tourism hub, visited by people from anywhere in the world.
The first lot of 54 items, that included processed fruit chips, cookies and fruit salad dish, were exported two weeks ago, he said.
He was targeting a 100 percent export increase or a total of one container in the months ahead, Umar said.
"Our export this time is still only a half container, but we will increase it to one container in the months ahead," he said, adding that packaging would also be improved to make it more attractive.
?Exports could be increased as we have superiority in taste. Eighty five percent of consumers like the taste of Indonesian fruits, but because of better packaging, products from other countries are being chosen," he believed.
The cooperation agreement was a follow-up of an earlier meeting between Singapore and Indonesia in the Asean Working Group, deputy minister Rusman Heriawan said on the occasion.
"I hope it will work well and will mutually benefit each other," he said.