LAGOS - The Ministry of Trade through the Indonesian Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) Lagos is making efforts to develop exports in River State, Nigeria, an area where oil palm plantations have grown rapidly in the past few years. This time, ITPC Lagos in collaboration with the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI) Abuja, held a hybrid business meeting in Port Harcourt, River State, Nigeria, Thursday (31/3).
"Indonesia's business investment in Port Harcourt shows the close role of business cooperation and the potential for further cooperation in the context of increasing trade which needs to be fostered and supported. Indonesia, as president of the G20 this year, supports cooperation that results in increased trade on both sides," explained the Director of Export Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Trade, Ni Made Ayu Marthini.
Besides being attended offline by two Indonesian companies established in Nigeria, namely Menjangan Sakti Group and Prime International Nigeria-Mayora Indah, this meeting was also attended online by six Indonesian companies, namely PT Mitra Mulia Makmur (plastic equipment products), Setia Kawan Abadi International (herbal products), Gujati 59 (herbal products), Taishan Alkes Indonesia (Covid-19 test kit products), Indocare-Konimex (multivitamin products), and Supa Surya Indonesia (spices).
In the B2B meeting, ITPC Lagos received a request for 100 MT of CP 10 Cooking Oil products packaged in jerry cans and also chemical additives for the manufacture of ethanol. "Meanwhile, in this business exploration, there is a demand for Prime International Nigeria-Mayora Indah of NGN 15 million or USD 36 thousand and also Menjangan Sakti of NGN 7 million or USD 16 thousand," added Hendro. In total, this activity recorded a potential transaction of USD 300 thousand consisting of transactions for candy products, energy drinks, chemical additives, and cooking oil.
As Nigeria's second largest trading city, Port Harcourt has supporting infrastructure such as two international ports (Port of Harcourt and One Port) and local and international airports. In addition, Port Harcourt has a large industrial area called Trans-Amadi.
Indonesia's total exports to Nigeria in the January-December 2021 period amounted to USD 464 million, while in the January 2022 period, Indonesia's total non-oil and gas exports to Nigeria were USD 29.7 million or an increase of 37.8 percent from January 2021. Indonesia's leading export commodities to Nigeria are between other palm oil derivative products, pharmaceuticals, and paper. (LM)