Govt determined to push exports higher: Dorodjatun

Govt determined to push exports higher: Dorodjatun

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government is determined to continue to improve the
competitiveness of the country's export industries in a bid to
boost exports amid tougher global competition, Coordinating
Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti has said.

"Indonesia is the most open economy in the world, judging from
the fact that more than half of our gross domestic product (GDP)
is generated from international trade.

"Based on this, exports are the top target for being given a
boost," Dorodjatun said when delivering his keynote speech at a
seminar on the economy and investment here on Tuesday.

He stopped short of explaining the steps to be taken to get
there, but for a start, he added, the government would do its
utmost to maintain a stable macroeconomy and would follow by
making improvements to microeconomic areas, which would help spur
exports.

"The government is striving to improve the climate for
exports, including taxation, and an efficient bureaucracy. We're
striving also to maintain rupiah stability, so that entrepreneurs
can enjoy certainty in business," he said.

While details remain scarce, his remarks would appear to
indicate the government's will to improve exports, whose
contribution to growth has been somewhat disappointing.

Exports, along with investment, have contributed only a little
to overall economic growth over the past few years, leaving only
domestic consumption as the main engine for growth.

But since consumer spending has started to slow down, the
government is now left with no choice but to jack up exports in
order to push growth to a sustainable level that could help
create more jobs and reduce poverty.

Currently, net exports make up less than 10 percent of the
country's GDP.

However, signs of improvement are already apparent, as data
unveiled by the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) on Monday
showed that exports turned out to have increased by 1.21 percent
in 2002, compared with the year before.

The country's full-year exports stood at $57.0 billion, as
against $56.32 billion recorded in 2001, with non-oil and gas
exports rising by 2.8 percent, from $43.7 billion to $44.9
billion.

Initially, many predicted that exports in 2002 would decline
amid a host of uncertainties at home and economic recession in
developed nations.

The better-than-expected export performance should provide a
good foundation on which to boost exports this year as one of the
main drivers of the economy, targeted to grow by 4 percent.

Dorodjatun believed that exports could expand further this
year by maximizing sectors with development potential, notably
agriculture and low-end manufacturing, apart from the mining
sector.

Echoing Dorodjatun was deputy chairman of the Indonesian
Employers Association (APINDO) Djimanto, who said that export
performance could fare better than ever given its huge potential.

"However, if we're talking about competitiveness, our products
could be far more competitive than they are currently in the
global market, if the government provided some sort of incentives
that would reduce high costs in the economic process," Djimanto
told The Jakarta Post.

He added that currently, export products were less competitive
for a variety of reasons, including confusion over some tax
regulations, red tape and other bureaucratic constraints at
customs offices.