Indonesia Interested to Cooperate with Netherlands in Dairy Industry

VIVA – The Indonesian government through Industry Ministry interested in cooperation and investment with the Dutch company in the provision of dairy cows to spur the development of Indonesia's dairy processing industry. 

"To increase the productivity of the industry, quality dairy cow supply needs to be strengthened to meet the demand for Domestic Fresh Milk (SSDN) as raw material (for dairy products)," the ministry’s director general of agro-industry, Putu Juli Ardika, stated, on Wednesday. 

He said that his side had undertaken a working visit to the Netherlands along with representatives from the Indonesian Embassy in Brussels as well as the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague in mid-April of 2023.

The Indonesian delegation held meetings with the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV), The Netherlands Agricultural and Horticultural Association (LTO), a Dutch multinational dairy cooperative FrieslandCampina N.V., and some dairy farmers fostered by the cooperative.

The director general stated that the working visit also aimed at observing the implementation of modern and sustainable dairy farming in the Netherlands.

"The purpose of our working visit to the Netherlands is to explore cooperation and investment in the supply of dairy cows. In addition, we want to know the process of modern and sustainable dairy farming. We also visited the Friesland Campina milk processing plant in Leeuwarden," Ardika explained. 

Ardika also revealed the results of the visit received positive responses from both LNV and LTO. He said the private sector is interested in investing in dairy cows. 

At the meeting with LNV that several big dairy processing companies in Indonesia were interested in buying eight to 16 thousand Holstein dairy cows originating from the Netherlands.

Ardika stated that the attempt aims to address the shortage of fresh milk in the Indonesian dairy processing industry which currently reaches 80 percent.

"We offer Indonesia as a new hope (place) for Dutch cattle', so Dutch dairy farmers can relocate their dairy cattle to Indonesia or invest in Indonesia," he told. 

He said that the Dutch dairy processing players welcomed the opportunity of investing in Indonesia, "The (implementation of this working) visit in the Netherlands on investment (cooperation) for (the provision of) dairy cows also opens collaboration opportunities in cross-breeding the Dutch dairy cattle with the (hot environment) temperature-tolerant local (Indonesian) dairy cattle," he continued.