Vice President Ma'ruf Amin of Indonesia highlighted the potential of the Indonesia-New Zealand collaboration in halal-certified beef and lamb trade as an opportunity to boost the trade balance between both nations. Addressing the declining trend in bilateral trade, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin emphasized the need for further efforts to establish mutually beneficial trade relations during a meeting held on Wednesday (28/2/24). Bilateral trade between Indonesia and New Zealand experienced an 18.82% decline from USD 2,128.7 million in 2022 to USD 1,728 million in 2023. During the meeting, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin discussed the potential of halal-certified beef and lamb from New Zealand as a means to enhance the trade balance between both countries.
Highlighting New Zealand's significant production of beef and lamb, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin mentioned that New Zealand is a major exporter of halal-certified lamb, recognized by Indonesian halal certification agencies. He urged Winston Peters to explore this potential further to bolster trade transactions. Local livestock industry reports indicate that live animal exports via sea routes represent approximately 0.2% of New Zealand's primary sector export revenue since 2015, with an average income of around USD 42.32 million or approximately IDR 619.45 billion per year from 2015 to 2019. Last year, New Zealand exported 113,285 head of cattle via sea routes.
