The Indonesian economy is estimated to start recovering this year. In line with this, the Ministry of Trade is targeting the non-oil and gas export performance in 2021 to grow 6.3% compared to the realization in 2020 of US $ 155 billion. This means that this year's non-oil and gas exports are estimated to reach US $ 164.76 billion. "I can target from the Ministry of Trade, non-oil and gas exports to grow by 6.3%. There are many factors that will affect it," said Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi at his office, Jakarta, Friday (29/1).
The success of the Covid-19 vaccination will be one of the keys to increasing exports. The condition is that the success of the vaccine program does not only occur in Indonesia, but also in trading partner countries. In addition, the increase in exports occurred in line with the implementation of the Job Creation Act. Thus, investment will increase, resulting in industrialization which will improve Indonesia's export structure.
The Ministry of Trade will encourage the export of a number of commodities. Some of them, such as coal exports, will be pushed to Bangladesh and Brunei Darussalam. Then, CPO and its derivatives will be upgraded to Vitenam, Italy, India and Spain. Furthermore, exports of metals and metal products will be increased to potential countries, namely Turkey, China, the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines. Then, automotive exports will be pushed to China, Brazil and Myanmar. There are also electronic exports that will be boosted to the United States, Australia and China. In line with this, exports to a number of trading partners are expected to increase. Non-oil and gas exports to China are predicted to grow by 7.86% with the mainstay products of ferrous alloys, CPO derivatives, coal, pulp and other steel products. Then, non-oil and gas exports to the US are estimated to increase by 3.87% with the mainstay of shrimp products, electronic communications, CPO derivatives, and tires. Furthermore, exports to Japan are projected to grow 2.97% with the mainstay products of coal, precious metal waste and scrap, nickel, and components and parts.
To that end, the Ministry of Trade will continue trade cooperation with a number of countries. Trade negotiations are targeted to reach a conclusion this year, namely the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), Indonesia-Turkey CEPA, Indonesia-Pakistan Trade in Goods Agreement (TIGA), Indonesia-Bangladesh PTA, Indonesia Tunisia PTA, Indonesia-Iran PTA. In addition, the Ministry of Trade this year will continue negotiations for the Indonesia-Mauritius PTA, Indonesia-Morocco PTA, the Asean Economic Community, and study the ASEAN-India FTA (AIFTA) and the Asean-Australia-New Zealand FTA. Apart from that, the government will oversee and ensure the security of trade in Indonesian products abroad with trade diplomacy. During the Covid-19 pandemic, there were 37 cases of trade security from 14 countries, consisting of 24 anti-dumping cases and 13 safeguard cases. In addition, the government is also committed to undergoing a standard process for dispute resolution at the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is related to Indonesian raw materials (DS 592) and trade barriers to biodiesel products made from palm oil by the European Union (DS 593).
