Jakarta. State-owned postal company Pos Indonesia is anticipating that many Indonesian pilgrims will make use of their hajj cargo services to send souvenirs for their loved ones at home.

Muslim-majority Indonesia this year sends 241,000 hajj pilgrims to the holy city of Mecca. This is the largest hajj quota that Indonesia has ever received. And the large hajj crowds mean a huge boon to Pos Indonesia’s business. The company recently launched its hajj cargo services for the pilgrims to ship their souvenirs. Pos Indonesia has deployed 25 officers -- in partnership with the customs office -- to Saudi Arabia to take care of the services.

“The first batch of Indonesian pilgrims has arrived in Madinah, and they already used our hajj cargo on the second day. Their shipments even already landed in Indonesia before these pilgrims returned home,” Pos Indonesia’s president director Faizal R Djoemadi said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

“As of today, almost 20 tons of hajj cargoes containing souvenirs have arrived in Indonesia. We are aiming to have around 1,000 tons of hajj cargo throughout this pilgrimage season. Because Indonesian pilgrims really love shopping,” Faizal said.

Twenty-three days have passed since Indonesia deployed its first batch of hajj pilgrims. Around 169,958 Indonesian pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia as of June 4, 1 a.m., according to the Religious Affairs Ministry. These pilgrims all came in batches, totaling 433 groups. Indonesia is planning to send another 7,751 pilgrims today.