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Coronavirus begins to take toll on exports and tourism
With the decline in trade with China, one of Indonesia’s main trading partners, it would be difficult for the government to reach its economic growth target of 5.3 percent this year.
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Chinese tourists, some wearing facemasks as a preventative measure following a coronavirus outbreak that began in the Chinese city of Wuhan, walk after arriving from Nusa Penida at the fast boat pier on Serangan Island in Denpasar, Bali on Jan. 26.
(AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)
T
he coronavirus has begun to take a toll not only on Indonesia’s tourist industry but also on exports, which could further cast a shadow on the country’s economic outlook.
Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani said in Jakarta on Monday that Indonesia’s palm oil was among the commodities that had been affected as the virus outbreak had caused a delay in the commodity's shipment to China, one of major buyers of Indonesia’s palm oil.
With the decline of trade with China, one of Indonesia’s main trade partners, it would be difficult for the government to reach its economic growth target of 5.3 percent this year.
“We expect economic growth will reach only 5 percent if the situation continues,” Hariyadi told reporters, adding that the country had lost about 1.7 million foreign tourists from China, while trade activities had started to lose ground because of the coronavirus
”From us to them, it is mostly commodities such as crude palm oil and minerals. These exports have been affected,” said Hariyadi. “Meanwhile, our imports from China, most of which are manufactured products and household goods, have all slowed.”
He added that businesses were looking at other markets to replace China but it was challenging as the economic superpower offered competitive prices.
However, the outbreak has yet to affect the shipment of products from China to Indonesia in the e-commerce sector, according to online marketplace Bukalapak spokesperson Intan Wibisono.
