Minister Joedono to lead trade mission abroad

Minister Joedono to lead trade mission abroad

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Trade Satrio B. Joedono will lead
trade missions to Australia later this month and to African
countries next month to promote Indonesia's exports, an official
said here yesterday.

Chairman of the National Agency for Export Development (NAFED)
Rudy Lengkong, in a ceremony for the introduction of an
Indonesian Textile Directory, said that the minister will leave
Jakarta for Australia on Aug. 24.

The director contains more than 3,500 producers of textiles
and textile products throughout the country.

Rudy said next month's mission to Africa will go to a number
of countries on the continent, including South Africa and Kenya.

Indonesia and South Africa, which opened diplomatic ties
earlier this year, announced last week that relations would be
raised to the full, ambassadorial level.

Rudy said the missions are aimed mainly at diversifying the
markets of Indonesia's non-oil exports, whose growth has declined
since last year.

Indonesia's non-oil exports, which used to increase by more
than 20 percent per annum, rose only 16.2 percent to US$27.07
billion last year from $23.29 billion in 1992.

The NAFED chief said Australia, for example, will be a good
market for Indonesian textiles and textile products because it
does not impose any quota on such products.

Minister of Information Harmoko, after a cabinet meeting
earlier this month, said that Indonesia's exports of textiles and
textile products during the first four months of this year
declined by 25.6 percent from the same period last year.

Rudy said yesterday that textile exports to Singapore and
Germany, the second and third largest importers of those
products, decreased by 74.6 percent and 30.3 percent respectively
during the January-April period.

Handoko Tjokrosaputro, chairman of the Indonesian Textile
Association (API), the publisher of the textile directory, said
yesterday that the government should offer incentives to textile
producers to encourage them to increase exports.

"The government, for example, could exempt textile producers
from value added tax (VAT)," he said.

The government, under a tax law, imposes a 10 percent VAT on
industrial products and imports.(rid)