Indonesians need to eat more fruit: Minister
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 06/28/2010 9:34 AM
BOGOR: Agriculture Minister Suswono said Indonesian’s fruit consumption,
at 32.67 kilograms a year per capita, was low.
The Food and Agriculture Organization recommends the consumption of
65.75 kilograms per year per capita.
“This is a challenge for us to raise a public campaign to eat more
fruit,” Suswono said during the opening ceremony of the Mekarsari Guava
Festival in Bogor on Sunday.
The low consumption was blamed on low purchasing power and culinary
habits, Suswono was quoted as saying by news portal kompas.com.
“Eating is synonymous with rice. If an Indonesian does not eat rice,
they feel they haven’t eaten. We need to convince people that meals can
be diverse,” he said.
Suswono said prices for local fruit, which were often higher than for
imported fruit, should be a focus for the government.
He said that with higher fruit consumption, average consumption of
carbohydrates would decrease by 1.5 percent per year.
An Indonesian household consumes an average of 110 kilograms of rice per
year. Other Southeast Asian countries consume only 90 kilograms,
Suswono said. — JP
