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US companies, eager to tap into Southeast Asia’s fastest growing economy, are exploring business opportunities in Indonesia’s agricultural sector.

A total of 19 large US firms, taking part in the four-day Agribusiness Trade and Investment Mission in Jakarta until Thursday, have expressed interest to invest in agriculture here.

The United States is one of the biggest investors and trading partners for Indonesia, but the bulk of its investment is in the natural resources and manufacturing sectors.

The country’s imports from Indonesia — besides manufactured goods — includes commodities as well as textiles and their products.

“We are here to build a relationship. Hopefully we will get real trade going,” said Michael Scuse, the US Department of Agriculture’s acting secretary for farm and foreign agricultural services.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an agriculture seminar here on Tuesday, Scuse said that agricultural trade between the two countries had boomed in the past 15 years.

“[Indonesia] is one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economies with a vibrant business climate and upwardly mobile, expanding middle class, providing opportunities to expand exports of US food and agricultural goods and stimulate investment,” Scuse said.

Last year, the United States was the third-biggest investor in Indonesia after Singapore and Britain with $930.8 million worth of investment sunk into the country. It was the third export destination country for Indonesia after China and Japan, with export value reaching $13.3 billion last year. The United States is the fourth-biggest importer, with $9.2 billion in goods sent to Indonesia.

Franky Widjaja, vice chairman of the Food and Agriculture Committee of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin), said that US companies were keen to invest in a wide area of the agricultural sector, from heavy machinery to knowledge.

“There is a big opportunity, especially due to the food crisis,” he said, adding that the US companies would help local agribusinesses to increase their yield.

“Most farmers in Indonesia own small plantations. They still need to know how to maximize unproductive land and develop good agricultural practices,” he said. Most of those small farmers are only achieving half of their potential yields, Franky said.

About 100,000 small businesses are under Kadin mentoring.

Agriculture is a major industry in the United States and the country is a net exporter of food, as it has vast tracts of temperate arable land and technologically advanced agribusinesses. It is the No. 1 grain exporter in the world.