Promo center to help boost Indonesian exports to Australia
Promo center to help boost Indonesian exports to Australia
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesian exporters must improve their way of doing business and
promoting their products if they want to grab a larger share of
the Australian market, the National Export Development Agency
(BPEN) said.
Against that backdrop, BPEN welcomed and supported the setting
up of a private institution, called the Product Promotion Center
Indonesia-Australia (PPCIA), which was launched on Thursday.
PPCIA will aim to provide a complete promotion service package
for Indonesian exporters wishing to enter the Australian market.
BPEN's head of market development for Australia, New Zealand
and the Americas, Dede Hidayat, said the new body would suit well
companies wishing to boost export volumes, saying that all
Indonesian products had the potential to access the Australian
market.
"Furniture products and handicrafts, for example, are among
those products experiencing increasing demand from Australia
nowadays," he said, during a seminar for the launching of PPCIA.
"We also have an important competitive edge over other
countries in the region, being the closest to Australia."
Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that the
country's exports to Australia as of November last year were
valued at about US$920 million, of which 61 percent came from
non-oil and gas commodities, traditionally paper and rubber
products.
In 2003, total exports to Australia reached $1.09 billion, up
2.5 percent from the $1.06 billion the previous year.
The figures make Indonesia Australia's second most important
trade partner after Singapore within the ASEAN region.
Dede, however, warned that many Indonesian exporters still
lack the knowledge and capability to properly conduct business,
which has resulted in many complaints from their Australian
counterparts.
Dede related as an example the fact that many Australian
importers tended to import products in relatively small volumes,
but more frequently. "Indonesian exporters have problems keeping
up with demand because of that, which often results in a failure
to meet orders."
Another problem Indonesian exporters face, Dede added, was in
fulfilling quality specifications in Australia, especially for
food products.
"There are 87 cases related to this issue that are still being
held up by the country's quarantine service," he said.
In addition, there are still many Indonesian producers who do
not know how to establish relations with importers and
distributors in order to gain access to Australia's market.
Elsewhere, PPCIA director Hasan Asy'ari Oramahi said that the
institution would provide fee-based promotional and business
consulting service packages for its members.
The package, for an annual fee of A$4,200 (Rp 29 million or
US$3,000), would enable members to display their products in
Melbourne, where major trade exhibitions are usually held.
In the near future, Hasan said that PPCIA will expand its
services to Sydney. For further information, Indonesian exporters
can also refer to PPCIA's website at http://www.ppcia.com.au.