ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – The Indonesian government through the National Export Increase Task Force has determined 12 priority export destination countries in order to mitigate the economic slowdown of Indonesia’s main trading partner countries, one of which is Japan.
Secretary of the Coordinating Ministry for the Indonesian Economy, Susiwijono Moegiarso, said that the 12 priority countries include Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Brazil, Chile, China, the Philippines, India, Kenya, South Korea, Mexico, the UAE and Vietnam.
Susiwijono explained that the national economy is still showing resilience which is supported by domestic demand which continues to grow and is maintained by controlled inflation.
In January 2024, Indonesia’s trade balance continued its surplus trend for 45 consecutive months of $2.02 billion, supported by the performance of the non-oil and gas sector of $3.32 billion.
However, Susiwijono said that the performance of the oil and gas sector still showed a deficit of $1.30 billion.
“This is one of the concerns of the government, especially the National Export Increase Task Force team. For this reason, each working group is currently preparing work plans in the form of quick wins, short-term, medium-term and long-term plans to overcome this problem,” said Susiwijono in his statement, quoted Monday, February 19 2024.
Apart from determining the 12 countries, the task force has also determined a list of priority export products, starting from fish and processed fish, swallow’s nest, processed coconut and coconut, processed coffee and spices, vegetable ingredients and margarine, cocoa, processed food, cake and animal feed, cement, chemical products, rubber and rubber products, leather and leather products, pulp and paper, textile and footwear, precious metals and jewellery, machinery, electronics, automotive, furniture and toys.
The task force is currently also focused on expanding market access by encouraging the completion of agreement negotiations, especially the Indonesia-EU CEPA, Indonesia’s opportunity to enter the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade bloc, and Indonesia’s accession to become a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation. and Development (OECD).
Susiwijono said that a number of developed countries had recorded a contraction in economic growth, including Japan and the UK. This development signals that Japan and the UK will enter a technical recession. Therefore, the government is taking a number of anticipatory steps to address global economic risks to keep the Indonesian economy stable.
Furthermore, the government continues to monitor the impact of the global economic slowdown on the national economy, especially Japan. This is because Japan is one of the main export destination countries for Indonesia with the main export commodities being coal, electronic components, nickel and automotive.
It is recorded that Indonesia’s exports to Japan throughout 2023 are in 4th place with a total of $18.8 billion, while Japan’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Indonesia in 2023 is also in 4th place with a total of $4.63 billion.
For your information, the National Export Increase Task Force was formed based on the Decree of the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Number 416/2023 concerning the Implementation Team and Working Group of the National Export Increase Task Force, following up on Presidential Regulation Number 24/2023 concerning the National Export Increase Task Force.
The Coordinating Minister for the Indonesian Economy, Airlangga Hartarto, acts as Chair of the Steering Team and consists of relevant ministers and business actors.
Susiwijono said, the task force will strive to improve national export performance in order to strengthen the trade balance and encourage economic growth through strengthening export supplies, diversifying export markets, strengthening financing and international cooperation, as well as developing exports of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
“Apart from that, the government continues to carry out exploratory efforts to open new markets for export development,” he said. (AT Network)
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