Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Poland is seeking to further promote its fast-moving consumer goods, starting from fruit juice, buckwheat cakes, and hummus to personal care, to the Indonesian market, in a bid to improve bilateral trade.

Fruit juice Hortex and processed cheese Lactima were among the brands promoted at the 2022 Poland Festival at Grand Lucky supermarket in Jakarta. Visitors also got to try some samples of Sante Muesli – a mix of roasted and raw wholegrain flakes, raisins, and almonds. All these brands are already available in selected Indonesian supermarkets.

According to Polish Ambassador to Indonesia Beata Stoczynska, Poland had hundreds more fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), and the country would try to gradually export them to the Indonesian market.

"We actually have hundreds more [of the FMCG products], and I'm glad to bring them here in Indonesia, slowly by slowly, one by one. Our representatives are working hard to bring as many Polish products as possible," Stoczynska told the press at the Poland Festival on Saturday.

Stoczynska revealed that bilateral trade exceeded $1 billion in 2021, but Poland imported more than what it exported to Indonesia.

"Poland-Indonesia trade reached $1.3 billion last year, but unfortunately, Poland had a big deficit with Indonesia," she said.

Energy equipment accounted for a large number of Polish exports to Indonesia in 2021.

"Because we are investing in Lombok Island as we are building energy blocks. But of course, we are also selling cosmetics and processed food to Indonesia. As well as medical products, furniture, and machinery," Stoczynska said.

What Indonesians say

At the event, the Jakarta Globe spoke with the festival-goers – Adit and J – and asked their opinion on Polish products.

"The Muesli is tasty," Adit, a made-in-Poland product first-timer, told the Globe as he tried out the samples.

"I actually have never bought a Polish product before. If it suits my tastes, I certainly would buy them again," Adit said.

Unlike Adit, J has actually purchased Polish products before, particularly its cereals, when she dropped by the festival in 2021. This year, she decided to add a couple of Polish fruit juice cartons to her shopping basket.

"I'm curious about how the juice tastes. I actually have tried Polish cheese once and it was great. But I have never had their chocolate before," J said. "They have a similar price range to other imported products," she added.

The processed food shown at the 2022 Poland Festival has a price range of about Rp 28,900 ($1.86) to Rp 74,900. Some Polish personal care products such as shampoos cost Rp 121,900.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/lifestyle/madeinpoland-products-try-to-capture-indonesians-heart