Indonesia`s wheat flour consumption expected to increase steadily

Indonesias wheat flour consumption is expected to increase steadily with favorable growth of wheat-based culinary business, a businessman said.

“The increased consumption of wheat flour is correlated to the increased number of cafes. In a cafe, usually customers would not order for rice but cakes that use wheat flour as its basic material,” Marketing Manager of Interflour Indonesia, Dhanny Widjaja, said.

Indonesian Wheat Flour Producers Association (Aptindo) expected the wheat flour demand in the country to grow by five to six percent with the national economic growth in 2015.

“We believe that the future trend would be positive, as culinary business is a relatively endurable one,” he said, pointing to its potential in breads, biscuits and noodles industries.

His company has targeted to increase its market share by 10 percent in 2019.

“This year (the market share) has reached 8 percent with a total production of 2,800 tons per day from two factories in Makassar and Cilegon,” he said.

The company has focused on cakes, biscuits and noodle industries in its efforts to expand its product distribution, in addition to its retail markets.

“We focus on expansion, especially to southern Sumatra,” he said.

The company would also renew one of its factories in Cilegon, which will be inaugurated in 2017 and will have a production capacity of 400 tons per day.