“Primaduta Award” from Indonesia awarded to the Dutch Company Koas Foods BV

The Primaduta Award 2022 awarding ceremony was held at the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague on Monday, 16 January 2023. The Primaduta Award is a prestigious award granted by the Government of Indonesia to loyal importers of Indonesia’s best products and have shown growth in import value over the last five years. More than 300 companies from 70 countries competed for this prestigious award, however only 16 companies from 16 countries received the award. Koas Foods BV from the Netherlands was appointed by the Indonesian Ministry of Trade as one of the winners. The Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia, H.E. Mayerfas representing the Government of Indonesia handed over the Primaduta Award to Mr. Menno Janki and Mr. Sjoerd Koeber from Koas Foods BV.

During the opening speech of Ambassador Mayerfas, he reiterated the significance of bilateral trade between Indonesia and the Netherlands. As a trade partner and a hub for the distribution of Indonesian products throughout Europe, the Netherlands is the main partner for Indonesian export goods. In 2022, trade value between both countries was estimated around USD 5.8 billion. Indonesia exports value to the Netherlands was around USD 5 billion and Indonesia import value from the Netherlands was around USD 767 million, these figures show that Indonesia enjoys trade surplus around USD 4.3 billion with the Netherlands. He urged the implementation of more commercial partnerships and cooperation, particularly in light of the current turmoil in the world economy caused by high inflation rates and growing logistics costs.

Ambassador Mayerfas also emphasized the Dutch market’s enormous potential as way to expand Indonesian products due to the country’s close cultural ties to Indonesia and the sizable Indonesian diaspora, which makes up around 10% of the Dutch population. There are over 420 Indonesian restaurants in the Netherlands that can be captive market for Indonesian products. This fact undoubtedly benefits Koas Foods BV and other Dutch companies doing business with Indonesia.

Additionally, Menno Janki, after receiving the award, expressed the company’s gratitude to the Indonesian Embassy, through its Trade Attaché, for continuous assistance in implementing several investment and purchasing agreements. He also mentioned that the business is expanding to USD 10 million on new purchasing contracts, with the first shipment expected to leave this month. Additionally, the company makes a roughly USD 350,000 investment in honey beans plantation and fish processing facility in Indonesia.

During the award ceremony, some Indonesian companies who joined virtually also had the chance to speak about their cooperation and recent efforts, particularly those directly related to the empowerment of SMEs. Mr Nandhika Tama, CEO of PT Artha Jaya Marindo, Mr Indra Dwi Hartanto from Bafain Haridra Indonesia, and Mr. Triyanto, Head of CSR Astra International, provided their viewpoints on the ongoing collaboration. Other Indonesian farmers and fishermen enthusiastically joined this event, expecting to obtain success stories and expected to be able to produce high-quality export products for the European market.

Finally, closing the awarding ceremony, the Indonesia Trade Attaché, Mr. Sabbat Christian Jannes, conveyed his appreciation to Koas Foods BV for establishing their business with Indonesia. This new investment and purchasing projects are expected to contribute in increasing the livelihood of small farmers and fishermen in Indonesia.

Written by Nanda Jagusiak-Monteiro