Trade Ministry Relies on Three Strategies to Boost National Exports

The Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) is relying on three main strategies to increase the value of national exports as part of efforts to support Indonesia’s economic growth targets amid global uncertainty. Director General of National Export Development at the Ministry of Trade, Fajarini Puntodewi, stated that the strategies include expanding export market access, increasing the competitiveness of exporters, and diversifying export markets and products. “The Ministry of Trade’s strategy focuses on three main aspects,” Puntodewi said in Jakarta on Wednesday. She explained that the first strategy is implemented by expanding export market access through the completion and utilisation of various international agreements. The move aims to secure more competitive tariffs for Indonesian products while opening access to wider markets. Indonesia currently has 25 international trade agreements, including the Indonesia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IUAE-CEPA), the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), the Indonesia-Australia CEPA, the Indonesia-European Union CEPA, the Indonesia-Peru CEPA, the Indonesia-Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Agreement (Indonesia GCC FTA), the Indonesia-Korea CEPA, the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJEPA), the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), and the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA). The second strategy involves the ministry’s commitment to increasing the competitiveness of exporters, particularly micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), through export mentoring programmes, business matching, trade promotion, and strengthening the capacity of business actors to meet international market standards. The third strategy focuses on encouraging the diversification of export markets and products so that Indonesia’s export performance does not depend on specific markets or commodities. Puntodewi said the implementation of these three strategies is expected to make exports a key driver of national economic growth, while also encouraging job creation and increasing the country’s foreign exchange earnings. She added that the Ministry of Trade has prepared a number of concrete steps to expand export markets in order to maintain export performance amid global uncertainty. The first step is accelerating the completion of various trade agreements with strategic partner countries while optimising the implementation of existing agreements. The ministry is also strengthening international trade promotion through exhibitions, trade missions, business matching, and the use of digital platforms so that Indonesian exporters can reach more potential buyers in the global market. In carrying out these promotions, the ministry is optimising the role of 46 Indonesian trade representatives, consisting of Trade Attachés and Indonesian Trade Promotion Centres (ITPC) in various countries. Furthermore, the Ministry of Trade continues to encourage export market diversification by targeting regions that still have high economic growth prospects, such as South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Puntodewi said this step is expected to reduce Indonesia’s export dependence on traditional markets such as the United States, Europe, China, Japan, and the Philippines. “The Ministry of Trade continues to provide market intelligence information and mentoring to business actors so they can respond quickly to changes in global market demand,” Puntodewi said. Based on Ministry of Trade data, export performance in May 2026 was recorded at 23.20 billion US dollars, down 8.30 percent compared to April 2026 and down 5.73 percent compared to May 2025. The monthly decline was influenced by a 34.38 percent drop in oil and gas exports and a 7.05 percent drop in non-oil and gas exports. Cumulatively from January to May 2026, Indonesia’s exports reached 115.36 billion US dollars, or grew 3.02 percent compared to the same period the previous year. This growth was driven by non-oil and gas exports, which increased 3.89 percent to 110.19 billion US dollars, while oil and gas exports were recorded at 5.17 billion US dollars, down 12.71 percent.