VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The processing industry still consistently provides the largest contribution to national exports. From January to December 2019, exports of processing industry products were able to reach more than US$126.00 billion dollars or 75.5 percent of Indonesia's total exports over the past year.

Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said in Jakarta on Thursday, January 16, 2020, the government was indeed focusing on increasing the value of exports to improve Indonesia's trade balance. Therefore, the manufacturing sector has a very important role to achieve these goals. Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency, the five sectors that contributed the most to the achievement of the export value of the manufacturing industry during 2019, were the food industry, basic metals, chemicals and articles of chemicals, the clothing industry, paper and paper products industry .

The five main export destinations for Indonesia's manufactured products in the January-December 2019 period are the United States, China, Japan, Singapore and India. Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita emphasized that the government continues to expand export markets, especially to non-traditional countries.

He explained that various strategic steps had been carried out by the Ministry of Industry in an effort to increase the value of exports from the manufacturing sector. These efforts include industrial development through increasing competitiveness and preparing superior products. Also the use of free trade agreements (FTA) such as the acceleration of FTA negotiations, expansion into non-traditional markets, and the initiation of bilateral FTAs ​​according to industry needs. In addition, an international promotion program was implemented through promotion and export assistance, increasing the capacity of producers for exports, as well as linking and matching with global production networks.

Minister Agus Gumiwang added, Indonesia is the official country partner at the Hannover Messe 2020 event. This could be a good momentum to introduce the readiness of Indonesia's industry in the 4.0 era, promote investment and export cooperation in the industrial sector, and strengthen bilateral cooperation with Germany and with countries oriented towards technological innovation. This event is important for Indonesia not only because it is the first country in ASEAN to become an Official Partner Country, but also supports national branding efforts on Indonesia's position as one of the new powers of the world economy and global manufacturing players. The exhibition will take place in Hannover, Germany, from 20 to 24 April 2020.