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Bekraf pushes for more trade deals to boost creative exports
The agency says that trade deals would help avoid tariffs and increase exports from the creative economy.
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Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) head Triawan Munaf (tempo.co/Subekti)
T
he Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) has called on the government to intensify its efforts to establish more trade deals with foreign countries to boost exports of creative products, as the country was not reaping the full potential of the creative economy.
Bekraf head Triawan Munaf said the agency had set an export target for creative goods this year that was 8 percent higher, from $20 billion in 2018 to US$21.8 billion in 2019.
He said the tariffs imposed by destination countries had prevented Indonesia from exporting more creative goods last year.
“Even with the [trade] barriers that resulted in higher prices, customers were still eager to buy our products. So imagine what could happen if there were bilateral agreements,” Triawan said over the weekend on the sidelines of an event in Jakarta.
The United States was the top export destination for Indonesia’s creative products at 30.25 percent, followed by Japan at 6.79 percent.
Triawan said the agency had been holding large festivals and trade shows to present and promote the country's creative products for potential export, including the annual Bekraf Festival and the Creative and Innovative Nusantara Collaborations (IKKON) exhibition.
Bekraf also played an important role in helping producers seek investors, similar to the assistance it provided for food start-up Macamu, which was able to set up a factory in Yogyakarta after gaining investors.
However, Triawan noted, productivity and distribution were key for producers in meeting the large export demand. He said about 300 million middle-class consumers in China were keen to buy Indonesian products, but the producers were not ready to meet the demand. (bbn)
