West Papua's potential is extraordinaryJakarta (ANTARA) - West Papua has great potential to contribute to trade and tourism at the national level, Director General of Domestic Trade at the Trade Ministry Isy Karim said here on Monday.
"West Papua's potential is extraordinary. Commodities ranging from coffee, nutmeg, seaweed, and also marine, nature reserves, and forest tourism need to be uplifted," Karim said at a webinar on "Proud of Made in Indonesia: Let's Make West Papua Global" here on Monday.
He noted that the province is rich in agricultural and forest products and highlighted its tourism potential, particularly in maritime and natural tourism.
Based on the ministry's data, West Papua’s annual economic growth in the first quarter of 2023 was recorded at 3.13 percent.
The contribution of the province's F&B processing industry to the gross domestic regional product (GRDP) reached 29.56 percent, followed by mining at 18.98 percent and construction at 11.71 percent.
Karim said West Papua's export value from the oil and gas sector reached US$276.31 million or 98.89 percent of the total exports in March 2023. Meanwhile, its non-oil and gas export value amounted to US$3.09 million.
China was West Papua's main export destination, accounting for US$171.51 million or 61.38 percent of the total exports.
"This is something that we need to upgrade through the Proud of Indonesia-made Products (Gernas BBI) and the Proud of Travel in Indonesia (BBWI) movements," Karim said.
Both movements are aimed at upgrading micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) products and expanding their market.
Gernas BBI has a very strategic role and must be promoted among the community to increase domestic trade so people can spend more on locally made products.
MSMEs account for 97 percent of the jobs in the country. By the end of 2022, at least 20 million MSMEs had entered the digital ecosystem, and their number is expected to grow further.
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Translator: Maria P, Kenzu
Editor: Sri Haryati
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