Indonesia, Canada Step up Agricultural Cooperation

Jakarta (Antara) - Indonesian Agriculture Minister Suswono and Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Gerry Ritz reached an agreement to enhance agricultural cooperation between the two countries during a meeting in Beijing on Thursday. According to a press release made available to Antara here on Friday, Suswono and Gerry met in Beijing on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial forum to discuss food security. During the meeting, Gerry raised the question on why only two Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island could supply their farm products to Indonesia. "We need to understand why only two provinces can supply farm products to Indonesia," Suswono noted in response to Gerry's question. The Indonesian agriculture minister also proposed Canada to be willing to import tropical fruits from Indonesia. "I think many tropical fruits, which are not found in Canada, can be supplied from Indonesia. Therefore, I hope Canada will import such fruits from Indonesia," Suwono remarked. With regard to Suswono's statement, the Canadian agriculture minister clarified that there was no such problem, and therefore, the two countries can work in synergy with each other. "We hope Indonesia can also import Canadian fruits, which it does not have, so that both nations can complement each other," Gerry noted.(*)