REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MOSCOW - Indonesian Ambassador to Russia, Djauhari Oratmangun, said that Indonesia was ready to invest and build an instant noodle factory in Russia because Russians had taken a shine to this special Asian food. "The request to build a noodle factory in Russia was put forward by Russian Deputy Minister Dmitry Rogozin when we had a meeting. People in Russia apparently like instant noodles," Oratmangun said on Saturday," the ambassador said on Saturday.
Djauhari said that Indonesia and Russia have agreed on a trade cooperation deal at a meeting recently. Russia offered to export wheat directly to Indonesia while Indonesia would increase its crude palm oil export volumes to the country and make an investment in the construction of a noodle factory.
"This is a big chance for Indonesian noodle firms because Russia has a big population. When I return to Indonesia, I will meet noodle businessmen and ask them to consider Russia as a potential market," the ambassador asserted.
Russia is the world`s biggest country whose areas stretch from Eastern Europe to the Northern Asian region, covering an area of over 17 million sq km, which is twice the size of China. It has the seventh largest population after that of China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Brazil and Pakistan.
Russia was the largest part of the former Soviet Union and shared 50 percent of the former Soviet`s population, assets and weapons. Its population figures are about half of Indonesia`s population of 237.6 million.
"The market for instant noodle is quite big here. We should take this opportunity. If there is one Indonesian businessman who is interested in building an instant noodle in Russia, he could contact the Indonesian embassy in Moscow," he said.
The embassy`s spokesman M Aji Surya said that instant noodles were a popular food product in Russia. "Many shops sell instant noodles," he said.
Indonesian delegates to the World Media Summit, held in the World Trade Center, for example found that supermarkets sell different trademarked instant noodles and were having good sales. Many brands on sale were those having the Rolton and Dosirak trademarks.
They did not found any noodles of the Indonesian trade mark. The price of a pack of noodles is about 30 rubles or about 1 USD. According to Aji Surya, the Russian offer to build an instant noodle firm to the Indonesian businesses is proof of its seriousness towards making Indonesia a business partner.
He said that the volume of the two countries trade was set to increase to 5 billion USD in 2014. In 2011, the value of the two-way trade of the two nations stood at 2.51 billion USD, which increased from 1.68 USD billion in 2010.
