TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian instant noodle giant Indomie claims to have dominated 95 percent of Saudi Arabia’s instant noodle market share.

The general manager of Pinehill Arabia Food Ltd., Noor Wahyono, made this statement at the Middle East and North Africa’s largest instant noodle factory in Saudi Arabia. Indonesian Consul General to Saudi Arabia Mohammad Hery Saripudin was also present at the factory.

“Indomie dominated 95 percent of Saudi Arabia’s instant noodle market share,” said Hery Saripudin on Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry official website on Friday, September 14.

The CEO of Pinehill Arabia Food Ltd., Faisal Bawazir, said Indomie was easily accepted by Saudi Arabian customers thanks to several factors, among them its halal certification.

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“They presumptively consume the products since they are guaranteed to be halal. Indonesia also has the largest Muslim population in the world,” said Faisal.

Hery Saripudin went on to say that the Indonesian government is currently applying a multi-layer diplomacy, including culinary diplomacy and soft diplomacy, such as a Bahasa Indonesia non-degree program for foreigners.

The instant noodle factory where Indomie is made is able to produce up to 72,000 instant noodle packs each hour, or 3.5 million packs daily.

ANTARA