TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin is pushing for more exports of halal-certified beef and lamb from New Zealand to Indonesia. The goal, he said, is to improve the trade balance between the two countries, which has recently been sluggish.

"Recently, there has been a decline. Therefore, we need to make further efforts to build mutually beneficial trade relations between the two parties," the vice president said during a press conference after a bilateral meeting with New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters at the New Zealand Parliament Building, Wednesday, February 28.

Last year, the trade balance between Indonesia and New Zealand stood at US$1,728 million, down 18.82 percent from 2022's US$2,128.7 million.

In the meeting with New Zealand Deputy PM Winston Peters, Ma'ruf Amin mentioned the halal-certified beef and lamb commodities from New Zealand. "New Zealand is a fairly large producer of beef and lamb and an exporter of halal lamb which has received halal certification recognition from the Indonesian halal certification agency," he said.

Therefore, the Vice President requested that Deputy PM Winston Peters reorganize the potential of the two countries to increase trade transactions.

According to the Livestock Industry Agency, sea-based livestock exports have only accounted for 0.2% of New Zealand's primary sector export earnings since 2015. On average, these exports have generated around US$42.32 million or Rp619.45 billion per year between 2015 and 2019. In 2019, New Zealand exported 113,285 cattle by sea.

The meeting between Vice President Ma'ruf Amin and Winston Peters is a follow-up to the agenda for the honorary visit of the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Tuesday, February 27, with the purpose of improving cooperative relations, especially in the trade sector, among others.

The meeting concluded with a luncheon attended by New Zealand officials and Vice President Ma'ruf Amin and his entourage in the same building.

During his visit, the Vice President was accompanied by the Indonesian Ambassador to New Zealand Fientje Maritje S, chief of the Vice President's Secretariat Ahmad Erani Yustika, Director General for Asia-Pacific and Africa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abdul Kadir Jailani, Deputy for Administration of the Vice President's Secretariat Sapto Harjono Wahjoe Sedjati, Special Assistant to the Vice President for Reform and Bureaucracy Mohamad Nasir, Special Assistant to the Vice President for Communication and Information Masduki Baidlowi, and the Coordinator of Events at the Indonesian Embassy Lucky Saud.

ANTARA

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