PALMOILMAGAZINE, RIYADH – Saudi Arabia Commences Food Security Investment in Indonesia’s Edible Oil Sector. Recognizing the potential for investment, Indonesian trade representatives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, held a meeting with representatives from the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Company (SALIC) on July 11, 2023.
“In the realm of edible oil products, SALIC expresses keen interest in establishing cooperation with Indonesia. Indonesia holds the position of being the world’s largest producer of crude palm oil (CPO), with contributions from significant private, government, and smallholders’ plantations,” stated Gunawan, the Trade Attaché of Riyadh, in an official statement to Palmoilmagazine.com on Wednesday, July 26, 2023.
In the business meeting, Gunawan did meet Senior Vice President (SVP) International Investment SALIC, Samih Alyaman. Gunawan did inform Samih about investment potential in Indonesia about food security.
Gunawan mentioned, palm cooking oil exports from Indonesia to Saudi Arabia in 2022 reached US$ 265,73 million, in 2021 they reached US$ 259,02 million, and in 2020 they reached US$ 89,43 million. The exports from Indonesia to Saudi Arabia in 2018–2022 increased about 44 percent. Palm cooking oil exports in 2022 reached more less 225,98 million metric tons (MT), which means, they supplied 32 percent of the total needs in Saudi Arabia.
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The Ambassador of Indonesia in Riyadh, Abdul Aziz Ahmad told, Saudi Arabia imported palm cooking oil from many countries in the past three years (2020–2022) that reached US$ 124,9 million, US$ 117,76 million, and USD 884,19 million in a row. Saudi Arabia’s imports from many countries in 2018 – 2022 increased more less 38 percent. In 2022, the total palm cooking oil imports in Saudi Arabia from the world reached 669,65 million MT.
“The numbers were about to contribute two percent of goods and services in Saudi Arabia from many countries. The countries that supplied palm cooking oil for Saudi Arabia were Malaysia, Indonesia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Egypt, Canada, Spain, and the United States of America,” Abdul said.
SALIC is the subsidiary that Kingdom Government of Saudi Arabia initiated. SALIC was established by partnership in national, regional, and international scale. The ownership of SALIC derived from joint shares of Saudi Arabia that Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Kingdom Government of Saudi Arabia owned. SALIC was established based on the investment regulation in Saudi Arabia that every investment should be established both in and out of Saudi Arabia. This is as the strategy to realize food security by providing food product and price stabilization. (T2)
