VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews, Jakarta: Indonesia-Laos trade volume reached USD194.2 million (in 2022), experiencing triple exponential growth from 2021, namely USD45.5 million (Data from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2023). However, Indonesia experienced a deficit of USD 141 million. The Indonesian Ambassador to Laos, Grata Endah Werdaningtyas, said that the deficit occurred due to the import of potassium, which is the basic ingredient for fertilizer.

"In recent years we have experienced quite a large deficit due to potassium imports," said Grata Endah Werdaningtyas to Voice of Indonesia on Tuesday (13/02) in Jakarta.

However, Ambassador Grata Endah sees the trade deficit as a positive thing from a macroeconomic perspective. "I view this as positive if we look at the macroeconomic picture because the potassium we import is the main raw material for making fertilizer and we know how our domestic fertilizer needs are very high, and of course, it will help our fertilizer industry," she explained.

Meanwhile, according to Grata Endah, potassium obtained from Laos is much cheaper than similar mineral products imported from other countries. "From the results of our research and records, importing potassium from Laos is 30 percent cheaper than importing potassium from several other countries that are further away, for example, Canada. "So this in terms of helping our domestic industry, in my opinion, even though there is a deficit, the end product from fertilizer itself will help our industry," she said.