JAKARTA - Indonesia has been strengthening its trade relations with a number of nontraditional countries, including Latin America. In an effort to expand the market opportunities for Indonesian products in the Latin American region, the Indonesian Delegation from the Ministry of Trade conducted a short visit to Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, from 8-13 November 2019.
For information, Indonesia currently has only one trade pact cooperation in this region, namely the Indonesia-Chile Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IC-CEPA) which was implemented as of August 10, 2019.
"As directed by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, one of the government's efforts to increase exports is to expand market access. We need to target non-traditional markets like countries in Latin America. For that, after Chile, we will explore the possibility of trade cooperation with other Latin American countries, namely Mercosur, Colombia and Mexico,” said Director of Bilateral Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade's International Trade Negotiations, Ni Made Ayu Marthini.
The value of Indonesia's exports to Mercosur in 2018 was recorded at USD 4.7 billion and Indonesia's imports from Mercosur was amounted to USD 3.3 billion. The Indonesia-Mercosur trade balance shows a deficit for Indonesia of USD 1.8 billion. The value of Indonesia's exports to Colombia in 2018 was recorded at USD 141.1 million, while Indonesia's imports from Colombia were recorded at USD 18 million. Thus, Indonesia has a surplus of USD 123 million. The value of Indonesia's exports to Mexico in 2018 was recorded at USD 905.3 million, while imports from Mexico were USD 287.3 million. Thus, Indonesia has a surplus of USD 618 million. (LM)