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Indonesia bets on trade agreements to boost exports in next five years
At present, Indonesia is concluding at least 11 trade agreements and plans to ratify 13 others in the next five years.
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Workers carry out loading and unloading activities at the Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT) in Tanjung Priok, Jakarta. The government expects exports to grow between 6.88 and 12.23 percent by 2024. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
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ndonesia is betting on bilateral and multilateral trade agreements to revive the country’s sluggish non-oil exports within the next five years.
Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto said trade agreements would allow Indonesia to increase its exports, as the country would generally receive easier access and lower import tariffs as part of the trade concessions.
At present, Indonesia is concluding at least 11 trade agreements and plans to ratify 13 others in the next five years. With the signing of these free trade agreements, the Trade Ministry is optimistic non-oil and gas exports will grow between 6.88 and 12.23 percent by 2024.
“I think the target is realistic amid the global economic slowdown,” Agus said at a press conference at his office in Jakarta on Nov. 8.
An expert staff member for international trade at the ministry, Arlinda, said that food and beverages, textiles and textile products, electronics, automotive parts and wood and wooden products were among the products included on the export priority list.
“The government will still focus on coal and crude palm oil [CPO] exports, as both are still top export products this year,” she said.
According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the country’s non-oil and gas exports from January to September fell 6.22 percent to US$114.8 billion from $122.4 billion over the same period last year. Indonesia suffered a $1.95 billion trade deficit during the first nine months of 2019, a slight decline from the $8.7 billion deficit in 2018.
