Exports to continue rising trend: Survey
Exports to continue rising trend: Survey
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The country's exports are expected to continue to grow this year
despite the rising cost of raw materials and loans, a joint
survey by consulting firm CastleAsia and logistics firm DHL
revealed on Thursday.
With approximately 100 firms surveyed from May through August,
more than half of which were small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs), 52 percent said they expected orders to increase at least
up until the end of the year.
There have been fears that exports could gradually falter as a
result of the soaring global prices of basic raw materials,
including oil which surged to a new record of US$52 per barrel on
Thursday.
It needs to be emphasized, however, that the optimism was
largely expressed by SMEs.
"SMEs, as we know, are more resilient amid the fluctuation in
prices and pose much less risks compared to large businesses. So
I assume they have more optimism," said economist Peter Duncan,
who was involved in the survey.
However, no statistics on the anticipated percentage increase,
nor whether or not it could exceed the government's target were
available.
The government has targeted non-oil and gas exports to reach
about $46.37 billion for 2004, up 7 percent from last year.
Furthermore, the survey found that the cost of raw
materials/supplies and currency rates were the two biggest
factors that influence business moves.
The survey also discovered that 53.7 percent of the companies
were confident that exports to Southeast Asia would make the
biggest jump.
This, said Peter, was due to the improving economy in the
region affected by China's excellent growth and strengthening
regional currencies against the greenback.
Japan, the United States, and Singapore have been the
traditional top export destinations for the country's non-oil and
gas products.
Peter also affirmed that the findings from the survey were
important as they could help indicate where the opportunities lay
at least for the next few months.