FoodTechIndonesia was officially launched at a ceremony held at the VIV Asia exhibition in Bangkok on 14 March, attended by Louis Beijer, Agricultural Counsellor of the Netherlands Embassy in Jakarta, and representatives from each consortium member.

Indonesia is the largest country and economy in South East Asia, with a fast-growing and increasingly urban-based population of over 266 million. The country’s poultry sector is growing rapidly, with an estimated 7 percent annual growth over the next decade. In order to meet future demand, it requires vast capacity expansion in all segments of the poultry value chain.

FoodTechIndonesia comprises leading complementary and non-competitive parties from various steps in the poultry value chain, which enables it to provide Indonesian companies integrated solutions. The consortium will share best practices by establishing demonstration broiler and layer farms and provide training – to show that investments in Dutch products and solutions are commercially attractive and appropriate for the Indonesian market.

Indonesia’s annual consumption of poultry meat is expected to increase from 10.9 kg per capita in 2017 to approximately 15 kg by 2023, with egg consumption rising from 5.6 kg (89 eggs) to approximately 7.1 kg (113 eggs). This is driven by the increasing purchasing power of Indonesia’s growing middle-class, which is more and more consciousness about food quality and safety and who are changing their preference towards protein-rich and value-added products.

FoodTechIndonesia, which was developed and is coordinated by Larive International, together with its Indonesia-based affiliate Clarity Research, receives funding from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, within the framework of the Partners for International Business and Impact Clusters programmes.

Matthias Brienen, Director of Larive International said: “Historically, investments in the poultry sector have been strongly concentrated in West Java. Recently, however, we have noticed increasing interest in Indonesia’s emerging regions, such as North & South Sumatra, Bali, Central Java, Central & South Sulawesi and South and East Kalimantan.

“Companies investing in these regions form an interesting target group for the FoodTechIndonesia consortium. By introducing more knowledge-intensive production systems, Indonesia can improve its competitive position in the region. Our integrated value chain approach fits both integrated companies and independent parties.”

Louis Beijer, Agricultural Counsellor of the Netherlands Embassy in Jakarta said: “The Netherlands Government supports Dutch companies with sharing best practices and knowledge and facilitates trade and investments in Indonesia. The Netherlands is internationally renowned for the responsible and sustainable production of poultry products, and for innovation and creating added value. Policies and practices applied in the Netherlands regarding food quality, circularity, product safety and hygiene are considered as the highest international standards.”

Harm Langen, Pas Reform CEO said: ”Pas Reform is very proud to be a launch member of FoodTechIndonesia and we are excited by the far-reaching and sustainable benefits that the consortium will be able to bring to this important developing market in the future.”