Trade Expo Indonesia 2017, the country’s largest annual trade fair, has succeeded in boosting trade deals with the country’s trading partners.
Exporters closed trade deals worth a total of $1.27 billion during the event at Indonesia Convention Exhibition in South Tangerang, Banten, on Oct. 11-15, the Ministry of Trade said in a statement on Sunday (15/10).
This figure represents a 24 percent increase from last year’s exhibition. It also exceeded the government’s $1.1 billion target.
“This level of enthusiasm shows the rise of Indonesian trade,” Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said.
Indonesia has seen its exports rebound this year, thanks to a recovery in the prices of some commodities and an increase in shipments of manufactured goods.
The government is keen to maintain this momentum by expanding Indonesia’s export markets beyond traditional destinations such as member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), the United States and Europe.
The minister said 22,088 visitors from 113 countries visited Trade Expo Indonesia 2017, with many buyers from nontraditional markets such as those in Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, South Asia and South America.
The countries with the highest number of buyers were Japan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, India and Malaysia.
“This fact makes us quite optimistic that diversification occurs […] which can certainly strengthen the capacity of national exports in the future,” Enggartiasto said.
He also noted that Indonesia managed to showcase diverse exporters, ranging from small and medium enterprises, private companies, state-owned enterprises and local governments.
The most popular commodities during this year expo were coal, coffee, beverages, motor vehicles and automotive components, crude palm oil, processed foods, electronics, electrical appliances, agricultural products, essential oils and cosmetics.
