"The main focus of TEI is long-term and international-scale business-to-business transactions. The ultimate goal of TEI is to increase Indonesia`s exports," Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The five-day Indonesian trade exhibition called the Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) 2017 held at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) in Serpong, Banten, concluded trade transactions worth US$1.2 billion, exceeding its previous target of $1.1 billion.

While closing the TEI 2017 on Sunday (Oct 15), Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita said the value of export transactions will continue to increase with the realization of trade deals and contracts from buyers after the conclusion of the expo.

There are still some potential orders from buyers who are conducting field visits to the production areas of their respective exporters. The TEI 2017 international promotion event had recorded satisfactory transactions worth $1.268 billion, which was 24.3 percent higher than $1.02 billion in 2016.

"The enthusiasm shown by buyers is encouraging, and the value of transactions is something to be proud of," Lukia was quoted as saying by liputan6.com online media.

The TEI is Indonesias largest business-to-business trade event showcasing the countrys best export products. It is Indonesias main international trade event, with strong participation from both businesses and high-level government representatives.

The TEI is hosted annually by the Directorate General National Export Development of the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia. It combines regional discussions with business matching and a trade and investment forum.

In a press statement released on Wednesday, Trade Minister Lukita had expressed belief that Indonesia was ready to become a supplier of resources to global business agents in a sustainable manner.

"The main focus of TEI is long-term and international-scale business-to-business transactions. The ultimate goal of TEI is to increase Indonesias exports," the minister elaborated.

President Joko Widodo had inaugurated the trade expo on Wednesday, Oct 11, at the ICE, a new 220-thousand-square-meter venue located in the heart of BSD City in Tangerang, a satellite town of Greater Jakarta.

Organizers of the event had earlier set a transaction target of $1.1 billion in TEI 2017, but until its closing on Sunday evening, the expo, which was attended by some 4,500 buyers from 79 countries, recorded total trade deals worth $1.2 billion, or about Rp16.86 trillion.

Last year, the TEI had successfully attracted 15,567 visitors from 110 countries and generated in total, trade transactions valued at $1.07 billion.

The fact that thousands of buyers from several countries attend the TEI every year demonstrates the high commitment of trading partners around the world. It is also demonstrates that Indonesia is one of the potential and reliable suppliers of qualified and competitive products that could facilitate efforts to increase the countrys exports.

President Jokowi when opening the expo expressed appreciation to the private sector and the government agencies who were able to increased exports. Moreover, TEI is one of the effective means of promoting Indonesias products and increasing its exports.

Hence, he praised the private and government sectors for increasing the countrys exports by 17.58 percent to $108.79 billion, in the January-August 2017 period.

"Likewise, the non-oil/non-gas exports in the January-August 2017 period also rose by 17.73 percent to $98.76 billion. The increase is fairly high as compared to the same period last year," the president stated.

The export hike is the result of joint efforts between the government and private sectors, in addition to the infrastructure development and connectivity that the government has pursued in the past three years, he noted.

According to Jokowi, Indonesian products must be able to penetrate non-traditional markets in Africa, Eurasia, the Middle East, South Asia, and South America, among others.

Countries sending business missions to the expo included Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Egypt, Australia, Thailand, India, Brazil, Britain, and the United States.

Therefore, the president urged Indonesian embassies overseas to identify products in demand that Indonesian businessmen could meet. Indonesian embassies overseas have intensively promoted TEI 2017.

The Indonesian Embassy in Hanoi, for instance, has invited 21 Vietnamese entrepreneurs as potential buyers to the Trade Expo Indonesia 2017. They are potential buyers of various trade products, such as food, beverage, craft and creative industries, as well as agricultural and wood products, and industrial machinery.

The Indonesian Embassy in Hanoi supports and encourages Vietnamese businessmen to follow the TEI as a trade promotion event that can increase the trade and investment value of both the countries.

In 2016, the Indonesia-Vietnam trade balance recorded a surplus in favor of Indonesia, amounting to $352.74 million, after a negative turnover over the last five years (2011-2015).

In the first eight months of 2017 (January-August 2017), Indonesia-Vietnam total trade reached $4.19 billion, up 24.8 percent compared to the same period in 2016

The other embassy that has facilitated participants to TEI 2017 is the Indonesian embassy in Amman, Jordan. It has made various efforts to increase the presence of accredited state entrepreneurs in the activities of TEI.

"Some 80 Jordanian and Palestinian businessmen have earlier confirmed their presence in the 2017 TEI," Indonesian Ambassador to Jordan and Palestine, Andy Rachmianto stated.

Bilateral trade between Indonesia and Jordan in 2016 had only equaled the previous years value of some $256 million.

Indonesias export value to Jordan in 2016 had amounted to $90.2 million, while the value of Indonesian imports from Jordan had reached $165.8 million. This resulted in a deficit of about $75.6 million.(*)

Reporter: Andi Abdussalam
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017