JAKARTA: he Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) expects exports to amount to US$750 billion in the next 10 to 15 years, up by 500 percent from the country’s export target set at $150 billion by the end of 2016.
Kadin’s deputy chairman for trade Benny Soestrisno said achieving this target would require commitment and cooperation among all parties related to export development, including the government, lawmakers and businesspeople.
“To streamline the implementation of strategic steps in Indonesia’s export development, joint action between the government and the country’s businesspeople in developing national exports needs to be prepared,” Benny said during a national trade conference themed “Trade and Export For All” in Jakarta on Tuesday.
To that end, he further said, Kadin had proposed a road map comprising five main pillars to boost exports in Indonesia. This included an increase in the number of exporters, export product diversification, export market expansion, export price increases and the development of an export ecosystem.
Benny admitted, however, that exporters had suffered a decline in the last five years due to a lack of competitiveness and financial capacity, along with the sluggish global economic condition.
“We need to increase our number of exporters, encourage existing companies and potential entrepreneurs to carry out export activities,” he went on.
Benny further said the government should also provide incentives for businesspeople who wanted to export their products. “We need a program to motivate and increase the capacity of businesspeople to export,” he said.
