Exporters told to find distributors
Exporters told to find distributors
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday awarded 65
distinguished exporters while encouraging companies to expand
their businesses overseas and deal with foreign enterprises to
facilitate the distribution of the country's non-oil exports.
"Competition in international trade is getting sharper and the
open market offers equal opportunities to any nation in the
world. Domestic businessmen, therefore, should really consider
investing abroad and cooperating with executives in foreign
countries," the President said at the annual Primaniyarta export
awards presentation at the State Palace here yesterday.
The President awarded 65 firms for their achievements in
exporting their products yesterday.
The Primaniyarta awards, which are presented once a year to
the nation's best performing exporters, are contested at both the
national and provincial levels. Last year, the President
presented the awards to 59 small, medium and large-scale
companies throughout the country.
Challenges
Soeharto said that in the ongoing 25-year long-term
development period, which started last year, Indonesia is facing
more challenges to increase non-oil exports.
"The world moves faster towards open economy and free trade.
In the fiercer competition, our non-oil exports have increased,
but the growth rate declined," he said.
"The growth rate of non-oil exports steadily declined from 27
percent in 1992 to 16 percent in 1993 and to 12 percent in 1994.
The drops were caused by competition, not by slowing
international demands," President Soeharto said.
He added that the growth rate increased to 14 percent in the
January-August period of this year.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, Indonesia's
total exports during the first seven months of this year
increased by 14.12 percent to US$25.01 billion, of which $18.92
billion was contributed by non-oil products.
"In the future, there's no other way than increasing non-oil
exports because non-oil products are now one of the country's
major economic arms. Increasing non-oil exports will help
facilitate the country's development," Soeharto said.
He said that all of the ministries, related government
institutions and local administrations should work together to
promote non-oil exports.
"I'd like to repeat the request I made a few years ago -- make
all-out efforts to increase non-oil exports. We have to
strengthen the international competitiveness of our products," he
said.
Minister of Trade Satrio B. Joedono said yesterday that
businessmen should not be reluctant to report to the authorities
if they are charged illegal levies which burden their businesses.
"Please, file reports to my office. Such reports will be
reviewed," he said.
Businesspeople have repeatedly complained that the exporting
process involves arduous bureaucratic procedures, including those
for customs clearance and port handling, while land
transportation of goods is subject to illegal levies charged by
various parties. (icn)