Abdaly, Kuwait – Indonesia has an opportunity to increase its charcoal exports to Kuwait because of the Middle Eastern culture of gathering with relatives and enjoying culinary delights processed using the best wood charcoal. The Indonesian Embassy in Kuwait had the opportunity to visit the wood charcoal storage facility of Mohamad Al Jahili General and Trading Company, an importer of wood charcoal from Indonesia (11/15/2020).
“The quality of Indonesian wood charcoal is a favorite choice for the Kuwaiti people,” said Kassim Alkanatara who is the owner of the importing company. Good quality wood charcoal is one that does not spark and the ash/charcoal residue is white in color.
Indonesian Ambassador to Kuwait Tri Tharyat said that the export of wood charcoal to Kuwait is evidence of the expansion of Indonesia’s non-oil and gas export commodities to the Middle East market. Ambassador Tharyat also noted several important inputs from importers regarding the importance of timeliness of delivery, maintenance of stable product quality and competitive prices that need to be maintained.
In addition to wood charcoal, charcoal from coconut shells is an alternative fuel that Indonesia is boosting its exports. On this occasion, one of the coconut charcoal producing factories from Gorontalo Province was introduced as an alternative charcoal product. According to Kassim, coconut charcoal is mostly used for shisha, while the advantage of wood charcoal is that it makes grilled meat cook faster and softer.
Since 2018, Al Jahili’s company has been importing wood charcoal from two Indonesian exporters from East Java and Jakarta, normally requiring up to five containers per month. According to data from the Ministry of Trade in 2019, the export value of Indonesian Kuwaiti wood charcoal since 2015 reached USD 2.8 million per year and is among the top 10 leading non-oil and gas export commodities in Kuwait.
(Source: Indonesian Embassy in Kuwait)