Indonesia to reopen trade center in Osaka

Indonesia to reopen trade center in Osaka

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will reopen its trade promotion center
in the Japanese city of Osaka next month to bolster exports of
non-oil commodities, Antara news agency reported on Monday.

The head of the National Agency for Export Development,
Gusmardi Bustani, said the Ministry of Finance had approved the
Rp 1.8 billion (US$225,000) budget required by the Ministry of
Industry and Trade to open the center.

The government closed down all 13 of its overseas trade
promotion centers in 1998 as a result of the economic crisis.

It was decided to reopen the trade center in Osaka first
because Japan is Indonesia's top export market, accounting for
21.36 percent of non-oil and gas export revenue.

Indonesia earned $10.4 billion from non-oil and gas exports to
Japan in 1999, up from $9.12 billion in 1998, according to the
Central Bureau of Statistics.

Antara also reported the government planned to open Indonesian
Trade Promotion Centers in the United States, Germany, the United
Arab Emirates and South Africa.

The 13 trade centers closed in 1998 were located in Dallas,
Los Angeles and New York, all in the United States; Mexico City;
Hamburg, Germany; London; Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Budapest,
Hungary; Baghdad, Iraq; Dubai, the United Arab Emirates; Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia; Osaka; and Sydney, Australia.

The chairman of the Association of Indonesian Exporters and
Handicraft Producers, Rudy Lengkong, said the government should
only be the facilitator for the building and leave the management
of the trade promotion centers to private sector.

"The private sector knows the market condition in each
country," he said.

Rudy is concerned the government will shut down the centers
again if faced with financial difficulties, saying this would
affect promotion efforts abroad. (10)