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ATAM: An expert on Saturday accused the government of not being serious about increasing export growth from non-oil and gas products, as indicated in the continuous decline of the value of export products over the last few years.

Chairman of the National Exports Supporting Council (DPEN) for the 1989-1998 period, Ismeth Abdullah, said that he was worried about the country's declining exports, particularly for non-oil and gas products.

Citing data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), he said the total value of exports declined to US$190.03 billion in 2012 from $203.5 billion in the previous year.

'The government should have paid attention to the decline to see what was responsible for it. Was it the result of a lack of competitiveness or weakening capital in the business sector?' said Ismeth.

No anticipatory measures, such as small and medium enterprises empowerment or domestic product exports promotion, had been taken by the government despite such a decline, he added.

Speaking separately, Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan admitted that the exports were declining but that it was caused primarily by global economic growth stagnation including in Europe and Asia Pacific.

'To deal with the situation, we have to continue developing businesses with a focus on adding value to what they produce,' he said.