Govt predicts solid non-oil and gas exports

Govt predicts solid non-oil and gas exports

JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the National Agency for Export
Development (NAFED) Gusmardi Bustami said he was upbeat the
upward trend in non-oil and gas exports would continue until the
year-end, thanks to returning foreign buyers' confidence in
Indonesian goods.

Gusmardi said the growth of the non-oil and gas exports in the
next semester could exceed the 28 percent increase recorded in
the January to April period of this year.

He said the sharp increase in the exports during the January
to April period indicated that foreign buyers' confidence had
returned even amid the prevailing political and legal
uncertainties in Indonesia.

"There is business confidence now because exporters are making
their deliveries as scheduled," Gusmardi told reporters on the
sidelines of an exhibition on farming machinery.

The government reported last week that exports from January to
April rose by 27.8 percent to US$14.7 billion from $11.5 billion
during the same period last year.

Commodities that recorded export growth of over 100 percent
this year are, among others, electricity equipment, $1.7 billion
from $815.7 million; pulp, $269.1 million from $121.7 million;
copper, $149.9 million from $49.1 million; toys, $128.2 million
from $26.5 million; and musical equipment, which gained $53.8
million from $18.4 million.

Total exports, including oil and gas, rose nearly 40 percent
in the January to April period to $19.10 billion from $14.05
billion in the same period last year. The oil and gas exports
alone rose more than 72 percent from $2.51 billion to $4.33
billion.

Gusmardi said the increase in exports from January to April
showed that Indonesian products had become more competitive in
the international market.

"Export growth in recent months was driven by, among others,
the sharp depreciation of the rupiah," Gusmardi explained.

According to him, Indonesian products were also of good
quality, which, combined with the weaker rupiah, had attracted
more buyers.

"Our products have their own market due to their low prices
and good quality," he said.

Gusmardi, whose office is largely responsible for promoting
Indonesian products abroad, said that more attention should be
paid to promotion.

He suggested that participants of international trade events
should be granted incentives, such as travel expenses that were
tax deductible.

"Promotion doesn't yield immediate results but rather plants
them," he explained.

The exhibition of farming machinery featured various producers
of small machinery, such as rice mills, rototillers and water
pumps.

The exhibition, held in the lobby of the Ministry of Trade and
Industry, was attended by several ambassadors, including from
Pakistan, Jordan, Bangladesh, North Korea and Laos.

Jordanian Ambassador Mohamed Ali Daher and Pakistani
Ambassador Afzat Akbar Khan both said that Indonesia's farming
machinery exporters had good market prospects in their countries.

Ambassador Ali Daher said that agriculture constituted a major
income source in Jordan and would pose a good market for
Indonesian farming machinery exporters.

Whereas Ambassador Akbar Khan said that Pakistan's agriculture
industry, which like Indonesia largely comprises small farmers,
could benefit from Indonesian rototillers.

According to the government, exports of farming machinery
reached an average of $11 million each year, with the main market
located in the Middle East and Africa. (bkm)