Quick success from U.S. Fry Festival in Iindonesia

Farm and Ranch Report April 27, 2011 Last week you heard about the potential for fresh U.S. potatoes in Indonesia. The U.S. Potato Board is also working to capitalize on opportunities for frozen U.S. potato products in the world’s fourth most populous country.

The Potato Board’s Susan Weller says a lot of Indonesia’s population is young and their incomes are growing.

Weller: “But also they are the type of consumers that will go to western restaurants.”

So earlier this year the Potato Board, in cooperation with a large Indonesian importer and distributor, put on a U.S. Fries Festival in Surabaya, the country’s second largest city.

Weller: We actually did have a chef contest. We had a coloring contest for children. Cooking demonstrations by a celebrity chef.”

Weller says the outcome of that festival resulted in 27 of the distributor’s clients adding U.S. fries in their 58 outlets in Surabaya.

Weller: “To have 58 locations introduce fries onto their menus, it was a great way to basically introduce U.S. potato products.”

And the result may be tons of additional demand for U.S. French fries.

Weller: “The president, or the director, of the importer and distributing company that we worked with, they expect to increase their demand by 50%. Right now they are currently importing 30 to 40 tons of U.S. potatoes monthly.”

That’s the U.S. Potato Update. Brought to you by the United States Potato Board, maximizing return on grower investment. I’m Bob Hoff for Northwest Aginfo Net.