Skip to main content

Indonesia eyes preferential trade agreement to boost trade with SA

From Business Day
Oct 19, 2012
AMID its push to diversify exports, Indonesia expects to seal a preferential trade agreement with South Africa, one of the fastest-growing markets in Africa.
Indonesia planned to conduct a preliminary study to assess areas of mutual needs in both countries and focus on those that would benefit the most from increased trade, the Indonesian trade minister, Gita Wirjawan, said in Jakarta this week.
"We have to clearly identify what we can offer each other and find out what is hampering trade on these products, then determine our moves. This is the necessary process to prepare for an agreement," Mr Gita said after a second joint trade committee meeting which discussed, among other things, market access and sectoral co-operation.
The study was due to begin next year with completion set for six months to a year thereafter, he said.
Trade between Indonesia and South Africa expanded 78.93% last year to $2.14bn from a year earlier. Indonesia’s exports rose 111% last year to $1.43bn, while imports surged 36.62% to $705m.
South Africa ranks 23rd as an export destination for Indonesian firms. Indonesia exports palm oil and its derivatives, rubber, vehicles and paper, while importing chemical wood pulp, ferrous waste and scrap, sugar cane, sweeteners and cotton.
The trade ministry’s international trade co-operation director-general, Iman Pambagyo, said the preferential trade agreement was needed to gain wider market access for local goods because, at present, local manufacturers were struggling with South Africa’s high import tariffs of more than 10%.
Indonesian manufacturers said that sometimes the import tariff stood at 35%, making their products far less competitive in the South African market.
South Africa’s Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said that before accepting Indonesia’s invitation to sign a preferential trade agreement, his country would need to consult other members of the South African Customs Union (Sacu), such as Botswana and Swaziland.
"So, we cannot commit to such an agreement already," he said, but he added that South Africa was also planning to assess complementarity between the two countries next year.
Mr Davies acknowledged that Indonesia was one of the world’s most dynamic markets with huge potential, which South Africa identified as a key destination for export diversification and investment.
For detail story visit here

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Indonesia's Astra Pins Hopes on Inexpensive Cars

From Wall Street Journal Feb 14, 2013 PT Astra International plans to continue dominating Indonesia's booming car and motorcycle markets by spending billions of dollars on expansion and becoming the first auto maker to sell a car priced to reach the country's emerging middle class. Astra controls 54% of the passenger-car market through joint ventures with Japan's Toyota Motor Corp., Daihatsu Motor Co. and Isuzu Motor Ltd., and holds 58% of the motorcycle-and-scooter market through a joint venture with Honda Motor Co.  To expand the pool of Indonesians who can afford a car, Astra plans next quarter to introduce models with sticker prices as low as $8,000 through its joint ventures with Toyota and Daihatsu. Currently, the least-expensive passenger cars in Indonesia sell for at least $12,000. "We will be the first offering affordable vehicles," he said. "This year, [auto-sales growth] should at the very least be flat, provided this ne
63 comments
Read more

Goverment to Build New Port in Subang or Indramayu

From The Jakarta Post April 2, 2015 The government has changed its plan to build a new port in Cilamaya and is seeking a better location in Subang or Indramayu, West Java. Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the government needed to build a new port but it would not be in Cilamaya. The Vice President, who visited Cilamaya with several ministers, including Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Indroyono Susilo and Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan on Thursday, said the new port would be built east of Cilamaya, either in Subang or Indramayu. Kalla said the main reason to move the new port’s location to another regency was because waters in the area were already crowded by offshore mining activities and oil tankers transporting crude oil to Jakarta and other cities. The government has allocated Rp 34.5 trillion (US$2.6 billion) to construct a new port, as Tanjung Priok Port is deemed too crowded. For detailed story, visit here The government has changed its plan to build a new p
Post a Comment
Read more

Indonesia State Pension to Lift Housing Investment Fivefold

From Bloomberg March 19, 2015 Indonesia’s state pension fund plans to increase its investment in affordable housing by fivefold to fulfill demand from low-income workers. BPJS Ketenagakerjaan will invest 10 percent of its 193 trillion rupiah ($14.7 billion) of assets under management to build homes this year, compared with 2 percent in 2014, President Director Elvyn Masassya said in an interview on Thursday. An estimated 34 percent increase in the pension’s membership this year to 22.3 million people may expand the fund’s assets to 233 trillion rupiah by the end of 2015 and help finance the housing investment, Masassya said. The move is in line with President Joko Widodo’s pledge to address a “dangerous” level of inequality that threatens the stability of the world’s fourth most-populous nation and to boost growth to 7 percent. The country is grappling with an economy expanding at the slowest pace in five years and a currency at near the weakest level since 1998, which prom
Post a Comment
Read more