Miller Magazine Issue: 144 December 2021

89 Country Profile MILLER / december 2021 • Egypt is the world’s largest importer of wheat. • Indonesia is closing the distance and could be in contention in the coming decades for the top spot. • The population of Indonesia is at 274m and expected to rise to 330m by 2050. • During the last half of the 2000s, Indonesia imported 5.6mmt of wheat on average per year. • During the past five years, this has jumped to 10.5mmt. • Indonesia, during the drought, imported more wheat than Australia’s exportable surplus. • Australia has a free trade agreement with Indonesia assisting in removing the barriers of trade. In recent months I have been having informal chats with industry participants about the future of the wheat industry in Australia. It got me thinking about our customers and how we have a treasure on our doorstep. Indonesia. Indonesia – the golden opportunity Andrew Whitelaw Manager Thomas Elder Markets