Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan stated that the government is optimistic about the global economy in 2024 despite the presence of several challenges, especially the prices of world commodities.
"The government will make efforts to encourage non-oil and gas exports in accordance with the target of 2.5-4.5 percent in 2024 despite the challenges of world commodity prices that are still quite flat," he noted in a presentation on the 2024 Outlook and Performance of the Ministry of Trade here on Thursday.
As an effort to realize the export target in 2024, the Trade Ministry will develop new non-traditional markets, such as India, Pakistan, South Africa, Nigeria, and Mexico.
During the period from January to November 2023, the value of non-oil and gas exports to India had reached US$18.45 billion.
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Hasan noted that Asia is a large market that can be explored. Thus, Indonesia needs to create products that have added-value, such as through downstreaming.
"The mainstay (products) are still CPO (crude palm oil), coal, nickel, and of course, manufacturing products and forest products," he remarked.
Cumulatively, Indonesia's export value during the January-November 2023 period was US$236.41 billion, down 11.83 percent as compared to the same period last year.
The decline in the cumulative export value was due to the weakening non-oil and gas exports and a 0.67-percent decline in oil and gas exports. The three main destination countries for non-oil and gas exports are China, the United States, and India.
The Ministry of Trade also stated that the value of Indonesia's imports during the January-November 2023 period reached US$202.78 billion, a decline of 6.80 percent as compared to the previous year.
"The Trade Ministry continues to encourage export performance by providing ease and legal certainty," Hasan remarked.
Related news: Govt encourages exports to new destinations to boost export growth
Translator: Maria Cicilia, Raka Adji
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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