Deal! Indonesia and the Philippines Agree to Barter Specific Products
Jakarta, VIVA – The Minister of Trade, Budi Santoso, has emphasised that the barter mechanism will not impose additional burdens on business players, including both exporters and importers. The barter scheme between Indonesia and the Philippines is viewed as a potential solution to increase exports while simultaneously reducing dependency on foreign currencies.
According to Budi, this scheme is also considered capable of strengthening trade relations between the two nations, provided there is strong commitment and trust from all involved parties. “I believe it does not burden exports and imports; it does not burden exporters and importers,” Budi stated in Jakarta on Monday, 8 June 2026.
He noted that the government has communicated to the Philippine authorities the importance of maintaining commitment and trust to ensure the barter programme remains sustainable in the long term. Under this barter scheme, the mechanism is not limited to products that complement each other within a single industrial chain. He added that all commodities have the potential to be traded, provided there is an agreement between business actors.
As an example, Budi mentioned that Indonesia has previously implemented a similar scheme with Egypt. At that time, Indonesia imported dates from Egypt and exported coffee to the country. “Barter can apply to all commodities; they do not have to be complementary. This was also done with Egypt. We imported dates and exported coffee. That is what we did. Moving forward, there are many commodities available,” he explained.
Budi Santoso recently witnessed the signing of two tripartite trade barter Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between Indonesian and Philippine business entities, with potential transactions reaching US$350 million, or approximately Rp6.29 trillion. Budi emphasised that trade barter is a strategic step to address exchange rate fluctuations that are pressuring the currencies of both nations. Through trade barter, Indonesia seeks to maintain trade stability without relying on cash payments in US Dollars.
There were two tripartite MoUs signed today (8/6). The first MoU is an agreement between Asian Pyrochem Technologies from the Philippines, PT Trade Barlam Indonesia, and the Indonesian Garment and Textile Association. The three parties agreed to barter raw abaca fibre for finished textile products, valued at US$50 million per year. Meanwhile, the second MoU involves Asian Pyrochem Technologies, PT Trade Barter Indonesia, and PT Krakatau Global Trading.