Distinguished exporters win state recognition
Distinguished exporters win state recognition
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday awarded 59 "distinguished exporters", saying that all government institutions must improve coordinated efforts to support the growth of Indonesia's exports in the new era of trade liberalization.
"We must all support the development of exports, to take as many benefits as possible from the era of free trade in the region," Soeharto said in a ceremony at the State Palace for the presentation of the Primaniyarta awards to distinguished exporters.
A total of 59 small, medium and large companies received export awards from the President for their achievements in exporting their products.
The Primaniyarta awards, which are presented once a year, are contested at both national and provincial levels. Last year, the President presented the awards to 64 small, medium and large companies throughout the country.
"Exports should now be one of our main objectives of development. And all economic-related parties should be responsible for the country's export promotion," he said.
Soeharto then urged large companies to initiate cooperation with small and medium companies to help them get better access to the international market.
He cautioned that commitments for trade and investment liberalization by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum have prompted all countries in the region to be ready to compete with their counterparts in the world market.
Leaders of APEC's 18 members agreed in the middle of this month on the liberalization of trade and investment in the region by 2010 for developed member economies and by 2020 for developing members.
"We are now entering a new era, in which all countries have realized the importance of competition," Soeharto said.
He said that companies now trying to enter the export market should learn from those which have been successful in the international market. "The information exchange among large, medium and small-scale companies is quite essential for export promotion," he added.
He said that during the period of 1989 to 1993, Indonesia's exports increased by an average of 13.8 percent per year, during which its non-oil exports rose by 20 percent per annum.
"Non-oil products now constitute 75 percent of the country's total exports," he added.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, Indonesia's exports during the first seven months of this year increased by 4.48 percent to US$21.92 billion, of which $16.55 billion was contributed by non-oil products.(fhp)