Antara | 18 June 2010
JAKARTA - The Saudi government has expressed its interest in investing in the rice development sector in Indonesia, a cabinet minister said.
Minister of Agriculture Suswono said here on Thursday that in order to meet its domestic need, Saudi Arabia imported one million tons of rice per annum.
Besides it also imported three million tons of wheat and seven million tons of barley to meet its need for cattle feeds, he said.
"The Saudi minister for agriculture expressed the readiness of his country to make investment in Indonesia, particularly in the rice development sector," the minister said when he explained the results of his visit to Saudi Arabia on June 11-13, 2010.
To follow up the results of his visit to Saudi Arabia, the minister expected that the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh would organize an investment meeting and formulate regulations on the investment.
Besides that, the minister also proposed that the holding of a research on the development of `Basmati` type of rice because this rice type had better productivity and taste if planted in Indonesia rather than in other countries.
He said that in his meeting with the Saudi Arabian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Hani Abiras, they agreed the need to increase Saudi investment in the agricultural sector, particularly food, cattle breeding, fowl industry, cattle feed and fisheries.
