Jakarta (ANTARA) – The trade sector has been proven to be capable of making a significant contribution to the growth of the economy, Deputy Minister of TradeJerry Sambuagahas said.The contribution of exports of goods and services to Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP) continued to increase to reach 24.49 percent in 2022. Indonesia’s economic growth stood at 5.3 percent in 2022, or 3.2 percentage points higher than the world’s average economic growth. “The trade sector has been proven to be able to contribute significantly to economic growth. Indonesia’s inflation in 2022 remained at 5.51 percent, or relatively balanced when compared to several G20 and ASEAN countries,” Sambuaga said in a written statement issued here on Friday. ccording to him, Indonesia’s trade balance experienced a surplus of US$54.53 billion, the highest on record in its history. The surplus was due to exports, which reached a value of US$291.98 billion, and imports worth US$237.45 billion. Meanwhile, in February 2023, Indonesia’s trade balance also recorded a surplus of US$5.48 billion. In terms of trading partners, the three largest trading partner countries that contribute to the surplus in the non-oil and gas trade balance in 2022 were the United States (US$18.89 billion), India (US$16.16 billion), and the Philippines (US$11.41 billion). Meanwhile, based on the commodities of non-oil and gas exports, those that added to the surplus were animal/vegetable fats (US$34.83 billion), mineral fuels (US$26.10 billion), and iron and steel (US$13.89 billion). The Ministry of Trade has been committed to pushing the performance of Indonesia’s trade sector, including by forging international trade agreements. Currently, Indonesia has entered into 34 international trade agreements. Through the agreements, business players in Indonesia can access a “toll road” facility to export their products to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, and other trading partner countries. Other strategies taken to boost the performance of the trade sector have included the diversification of export destinations and the conduct of trade missions to non-traditional markets, such as African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian countries. “We are executing this strategy because the trade mission has been proven to give concrete results. Recently, the trade mission to Saudi Arabia resulted in eight trade transactions with a transaction value of US$155 million,” the deputy minister remarked.
Source:Antara News Agency
