Belgian growers will soon be allowed to export their leek and chicory to Indonesia. "We received permission for this last week," says Philippe Appeltans of the Bond of Belgian Horticultural cooperations. He is on a mission to Jakarta at the moment with Princess Astrid, among others. Belgium only exported apples and pears to Indonesia until now, but in limited amounts. Now leek and chicory will be added.
Oddly enough, the target audience isn't your average Indonesian, but the western tourists in the country. "We aren't going to teach your average Indonesian to eat chicory, but will aim for the high class restaurants, hotels and resorts. 11 million tourists come to this country, mainly westerners," explains Appeltans. At the moment the Indonesian catering uses chicory from Australia.
Appeltans wants to drive up the export of Belgian fruits and vegetables. A big disadvantage is that the Belgian apples and pears arrive by ship in a port 800 kilometres away from the capital Jakarta. Appeltans hopes to soon gain access to the largest port in Jakarta and is counting on the ministers who are on the economic mission in Indonesia to apply the necessary pressure over the coming days.