Jokowi, in Rare Tirade, Threatens to Fire Officials Over Cargo Delays at Tanjung Priok

Jakarta Globe, Jun 17, 2015

President Joko Widodo telling officials and reporters what’s what, during a visit to
 Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port on Wednesday. The president threatened to fire
 officials responsible for the notorious delays in moving cargo through the port.
(Antara Photo/Widodo S. Jusuf)

Jakarta. President Joko Widodo gave an uncharacteristic outburst during an inspection of Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port on Wednesday, threatening to fire officials responsible for the lengthy delays in moving containers through the port.

“The process takes too long because the people handling it don’t want to move fast,” he told an entourage of officials and reporters.

He noted that Tanjung Priok’s dwell time, or the amount of time a container spends at the port before moving on, was an average of 5.5 days – the longest in Asia, he said. He also said some items took up to a month to clear customs and excise.

Joko added he was well aware of the legendary delays at the port, which handles two-thirds of Indonesia’s international trade, from his experience running a furniture export business, and threatened to fire any officials responsible for the problem.

“Let it be known that if things get [even more] difficult, I can fire the director general, the people on the ground, even the minister. If that’s how you work that’s [what will happen],” he said.

He did not specify which director general or minister he was referring to. The director general of customs and excise is Agung Kuswandono, whose office falls under the purview of the Finance Ministry, headed by Bambang Brodjonegoro. The trade and transportation ministries, which also have a hand in operations at the port, are headed respectively by Rachmat Gobel and Jonan Ignasius.

Joko said it was apparent that no one involved in the process – from loading and unloading containers to clearing them through customs – understood their duties or responsibilities, and chastised the officials around him for glossing over the problems.

“Don’t say everything’s fine. The reality is that [Indonesia] is lagging far behind. So who? Customs or trade? Who should I be speaking to?” he said, repeating the question seven more times.

There was no response from any of the officials.

“Which agency takes the longest time [processing] exports and imports?” the president went on. “There’s gotta be one. So I’m asking again, which one? Fess up, and we’ll fix it.”

Again there was no response.

Joko said the average dwell time at Tanjung Priok should be brought down to 4.7 days if Indonesia was to be competitive with Singapore and Malaysia.

“I want this port to be faster, more efficient, to give the best import and export services, because our business is the service business,” he said.

Indonesia suffers first trade deficit in nearly 2 years

Asian News Network, Hans David Tampubolon and Linda Yulisman, The Jakarta Post,02-06-2012

Indonesia’s trade balance plunged into the red in April for the first time in nearly two years due to the unexpected drop in exports during the month, a national statistics agency announced yesterday.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) revealed that the country suffered a trade deficit of US$641.1 million in April of this year after recording a surplus of $920 million in January, $692.8 million in February and $840 million in March.

Imports rose 11.65 per cent on a yearly basis to $16.62 billion, while exports declined by 3.46 per cent to $15.98 billion during the same month, the first time since September 2009. The drop in exports had caused the first trade deficit since July 2010.

BPS statistics director Satwiko Darmesto said that the slide in exports was particularly driven by dwindling international demand for Indonesian natural commodities during the month.

"Declining demand affected coal and crude palm oil exports,” he said during the announcement, attributing the lower demand for palm oil to India and China, the largest buyers of the commodity.

Exports of mineral fuel, mainly coal, were down 6.8 per cent to $2.43 billion in April from March, while exports of fat and vegetable oil, especially palm oil, dropped by 19.21 per cent to $1.76 billion from a month earlier, statistics show.

Other commodities, such as natural rubber and copper, also suffered from slowing demand, Satwiko added.

The decline in exports was also likely caused by the fall of commodity prices in international markets since the end of this year in addition to overall weaker demand from major export destinations, Institute for Development of Economics and Finance executive director Enny Sri Hartati said.

She said that the fall in exports was partly caused by decline in orders from China, which has started to feel the pinch of the economic crisis in Europe. “This trend will continue in the future,” she added.

Apart from this, the domestic industry’s dependence on imported raw materials and intermediary goods for production would put more pressure on the trade balance due to surging imports in the future, Enny further said.

China’s economy is highly exposed to the situation in Europe, the epicenter of the current global economic crisis. China’s economy, which greatly depends on exports, expanded by 8.1 per cent during the first quarter of this year, reaching its slowest pace since 2009.

The BPS data showed that non-oil-and-gas exports to China dropped by 0.5 per cent to $2.05 billion in April from a month earlier. Non-oil exports to Japan, one of Indonesia’s top export destinations, fell by 15.18 per cent to $1.43 billion, joining the US, South Korea and the EU in the list of Indonesia’s ailing trading partners.

Exports to the EU have been slowing down since the last quarter of last year, while exports to the US and South Korea, have decelerated since the first quarter of this year. Despite the slower export growth, China, Japan and the US remained the country’s largest export destinations for non-oil-and-gas goods, settling at $2.05 billion, $1.22 billion and $1.12 billion respectively.

RI posts US$ 22b trade surplus in 2010

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 02/01/2011

Indonesia posted a trade surplus of US$22.12 billion (nearly Rp 200 trillion) last year with imports growing faster than exports, the latest data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows.

According to data published Tuesday, exports grew 35.4 percent throughout 2010, to $157.73 billion, while imports grew faster at 40 percent in the same period to $135.61 billion.

“It’s not a problem that our imports grew faster than exports. What matters is that we could maintain the trade surplus, because it will go to our foreign exchange reserves,” BPS chairman Rusman Heriawan said recently.

Japan, China and the United States remained Indonesia’s biggest export destinations, while most of the import products that were shipped into Indonesia came from China, Japan and Singapore.

Related Article:

China the biggest deficit contributor to RI trade balance

RI exporters yet to adapt to ACFTA

The Jakarta Post, Sat, 04/03/2010 9:53 AM

Too close for comfort?: Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu (left) talks with her Chinese counterpart, Chen Deming (right), while the chairman of the China Committee at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kiki Barki, listens at a meeting in Jakarta, on Friday. The meeting was aimed at strengthening trade relations between both countries and to discuss plans to renegotiate the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement. Antara/Prasetyo Utomo

The free trade agreement between ASEAN and China (ACFTA) has been cited as not being been “effective” for Indonesia as imports from China surged in the first two months of 2010 over the same period last year.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced Thursday that non-oil-and-gas imports from China surged by 55 percent to US$2.79 billion in the first two months of this year, from $1.8 billion in the corresponding period last year.

According to BPS data, non-oil-and-gas goods from China topped Indonesia’s imports, contributing 18.58 percent to the total non-oil-and-gas imports.

However, non-oil-and-gas imports from China decreased slightly by 1.8 percent from $1.41 billion in January to $1.38 billion in February, while Indonesia’s non-oil-and-gas exports to China were worth $986.2 million in February, down 2.4 percent from $1.01 billion in January, the data shows.

BPS chief Rusman Heriawan said declines in both Indonesia’s non-oil-and-gas exports to and imports from China were a result of both countries’ traders using an older trading mechanism that was not under the ACFTA.

“The ACFTA was initially expected to boost exports to China and imports [from China]. Apparently, it did not [happen that way],” Rusman said at a conference at his office.

“In February, which was expected [to see the ACFTA come into

effect], the ACFTA was in fact not [effective yet]. This means businesses have not responded to the ACFTA yet.”

In the initial phase of implementation of the ACFTA that came into effect early this year, the government scrapped 6,682 tariff lines in 17 sectors, including 12 in the manufacturing sector and five others in the agriculture, mining and maritime sectors.

An influx of manufactured products from China is expected accordingly. Indonesian exports to China (mostly are raw materials) will consequently enjoy zero duties, unlike China, which exports mostly manufactured products.

Indonesia exports mostly liquefied natural gas, as well as mining and agriculture commodities (including coal, bauxite, crude palm oil and cacao) to China.

Separately, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said it was more important to have Indonesia’s non-oil-and-gas exports to China continuing to grow than to have a surplus trade balance, despite the presence of the ACFTA.

She also said there was “good” news in bilateral negotiations between Indonesia and China in regard to the ACFTA in response to local manufacturers calls for renegotiation.

The results would be announced Saturday in Yogyakarta, when Indonesian and Chinese delegations are due to hold a joint commission meeting.

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Obama’s Plan to Double US Exports Targets Asian Economies

Jakarta Globe, February 04, 2010

US President Barack Obama. (AFP Photo)

Washington. US President Barack Obama has ordered a cabinet-level group to oversee a new strategy to double exports in five years, mainly to rapidly growing Asia, including Indonesia, with a drive to remove trade barriers, his administration said on Thursday.

Under the National Export Initiative, the government will provide US companies with greater access to export financing and help them penetrate emerging high-growth markets such as Indonesia, China, India and Brazil.

Last week Obama picked Jakarta for his administration’s first overseas trade mission as the US aims to make good on a pledge to boost exports of climate-friendly products, US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said.

The policy will create an “export promotion cabinet” reporting to the president, including leaders of the commerce, state and agriculture departments and the US Trade Representative.

The move “represents the first time the US will have a government-wide export promotion strategy with focused attention from the president and his cabinet,” Locke said.

The policy proposes to identify opportunities in fast-growing sectors like environmental goods and services, renewable energy, health care and biotechnology.

“If we just increased our exports to Asia by a percentage point, by a fraction, it would mean hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of jobs here in the United States,” Obama said. “And it’s easily doable.”

US exports to the Asia-Pacific region were up more than 8 percent in 2008 over the preceding year to $747 billion, figures from the US Trade Representative’s Office showed.

“It’s all about jobs. And if done right, President Obama and I firmly believe that a smart, aggressive, progressive trade policy can be a critical part of our overall economic recovery program,” the president’s top trade official Ron Kirk said.

Agence France-Presse

Staff: ACFTA mere legalizing smuggled products from China

Antara News, Wednesday, February 3, 2010 03:12 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A finance minister`s expert staff, Chatib Basri, said the implementation of the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) should not cause fear as what would happen is the smuggled products from China is legalized.

"We have been worried about something that has actually happened. Chinese products have already been here through smuggling. Now it is mere legalizing them," he said after a discussion on the first 100 days of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s administration and the direction of the Indonesian economy here on Tuesday.

He said smuggling of Chinese products occurred because the price in China differed from that in Indonesia due to the imposition of import duties.

With the reduction of duties through the ACFTA the prices of the products in Indonesia would be the same as in China.

"If the duties are reduced people will go to legal imports. The impact will be seen in the import data later," he said.

Chatib said the Chinese products had already entered into the country in the last ten years.

He said the reduction of duties would not either cause a jump in imports.

"When the duties drop our average duties are actually already low namely seven percent so if they are cut further the impact will not be as fearful as we think," he said.

A senior researcher of the Habibie Center, Umar Juoro, meanwhile said the impact of the implementation of the ACFTA could not be stopped although it could be delayed.

"No matter how long it will be delayed it cannot be stopped. What has been a problem is that China would not relocate its industries into Indonesia because they are needed to provide work for its citizens," he said.

In view of that he said the government had to be able to push buinessmen to make use of the market already opened through the ACFTA.

"The challenge would be how to create a selective strategy so that people would get more benefit," he said.

ACFTA creates export opportunities, says President

Aditya Suharmoko and Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 01/26/2010 11:26 AM

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the free trade agreement between ASEAN and China (ACFTA) would not threaten Indonesia’s industries, but create opportunities for local businesses to export more goods.

He also said the government would strengthen the competitiveness of local industries against cheaper Chinese products flooding the local market, while pursuing renegotiation of some tariffs with China.

“Don’t think that with the agreement we will be flooded by goods exported by China. We can export many of our products. This is not a threat, but an opportunity.

“We can expand, and raise our exports,” Yudhoyono said Monday at the Indonesian Military headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta.

He did not mention which products might see higher exports.

The ACFTA — based on an agreement signed in 2004, has been gradually phased in and became fully effective on Jan. 1 this year — introducing zero tariffs on 6,682 tariff posts in 17 sectors including 12 in manufacturing and five in the agriculture, mining and maritime sectors.

To help protect local industries, the House of Representatives’ commission VI overseeing industry and trade has demanded that the government renegotiate 228 tariff posts covering garments, furniture and footwear, among others. It has given the government six months to do this.

Analysts said industries producing textiles, toys and footwear could be hit hard by the ACFTA because China could produce cheaper products.

According to the latest data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Indonesia imported US$12.01 billion of non-oil-and-gas products from China between January and November last year, down 14.7 percent from $14.08 billion in the same period in 2008.

Meanwhile, Indonesia exported to China $7.71 billion of non-oil-and-gas products between January and November last year, up 5.47 percent from $7.31 billion in the same period the year before.

Total exports between January and November last year were $86.64 billion, or down 13.71 percent from the same period in 2008; while imports were $69.69 billion, down 24.22 percent, BPS said.

The government may provide direct incentives if needed for industries negatively affected by the ACFTA, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said.

The government will also improve infrastructure to help cut costs and has cut tax rates to support industries, she said.

The government has a team to help cushion the economy from negative impacts from the ACFTA, Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said and its tasks included protecting the domestic market from smuggled goods; supervising the issuance of import documents; helping expand export markets; helping to improve the domestic market; and promoting local products.

Said Hartono, chairman of the Indonesian Rural Banks Association, said many micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises may close their businesses if the government does not strengthen supporting policies to cushion the negative impacts of the ACFTA.

“If they are forced to compete against large-capital industries, they are not ready. It can be predicted that they may shut their businesses,” he said.

President says ACFTA not a threat

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 01/25/2010 4:30 PM

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Monday the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement posed no threat to the Indonesian economy, but would provide the nation with opportunities.

Indonesia’s exports to China increased in 2009, while at the same time its exports to Europe and the US nose-dived, Yudhoyono said.

“The volume [of Indonesia’s exports to China] exceeded US$30 million. Therefore, the ACFTA is not a threat but an opportunity,” he said in a speech to mark the opening of the Indonesian Military leadership meeting.

Yudhoyono was aware, however, that a number of industry sectors were unprepared for and would not be forced to implement the free trade regime. He promised to discuss the issue with China in an amicable forum.

Any bilateral agreement with China is expected to protect specific industry sectors, without Indonesia having to quit from the ACFTA completely.

Free trade threatens national resilience

Antara News, Friday, January 22, 2010 11:35 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Implementation of the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) will pose a serious threat to the national economic foundation and resilience.

Member of Golkar Party faction at the House of Representative`s (DPR) Commission-I Fayakhun Andriadi said here on Friday that if ACFA was implemented, it would damage the order of national economic foundation and national resilience.

"Therefore House Commission-I in the context of national defense and resilience needs to summon the trade minister who signed the agreement in 2004," Andriadi said.

According to him, the implementation of free trade agreement with China and Asean countries including Indonesia should have been familiarized since 2004.

"Looking back to the signing of the free trade agreement, it was considered violating the 1945 Constitution because it did not side with national interest," Andriadi said.

He said what the trade minister has caused China to dominate trade in Indonesia and kill both national and local industries.

"It is feared to create unemployment and systemically damage national resilience in a new form, namely economic warfare," he said adding that it could lead to the creation of a special committee (Pansus) to investigate what was behind the signing of the free trade agreement.

Related Article:

West dependent on China for key resources

President admits ACFTA renegotiations necessary

Antara News, Thursday, January 21, 2010 22:37 WIB

Bogor, W Java (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono admitted that the implementation of the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) needs to be renegotiated to prevent the emergence of serious problems in the national economy.

"There have been calls not to automatically implement the agreement. The government`s view is quite clear and has been communicated to the DPR (House of Representatives).

After conducting evaluation, we have concluded it is indeed necessary to renegotiate the agreement for certain cases," he said at a press conference after meeting with the chiefs of high state institutions here on Thursday.

The head of state said the talks were needed so that the agreement would not cause serious problems for the country`s economy.

"Certainly the talks must be done well," he said.

Indonesia, he said, does not want to be considered defying what had been formulated by members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in which it is a member, moreover "Indonesia is the biggest economy in Southeast Asia and a member of the G-20."

In view of that, the President said, the government would manage the issue well including discussing it with the Chinese government.

"On the one hand the interest of the people must be protected and we must strengthen, prepare elements in our country better and on the other we also must continue to develop cooperation with Asean and other partners," he said.

The Asean-China free trade agreement has been carried out since January 1, 2004 through an "early harvest" program namely reducing tariffs on agricultural products including vegetables, soybeans and fruits.

As of January 2010 the agreement is entering the Normal Track (NT) I phase, imposing a zero percent tariff on 7,306 products or 83.61 percent of total tariffs on imported products reaching 8,738 products.

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Indonesian govt to slap non-tariff barriers to curb imports from China

Antara News, Wednesday, January 13, 2010 14:50 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The Indonesian government is planning to impose non-tariff barriers to curb imports of agricultural products from China, an official said.

The Asean China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA), effective from January 1, 2010, is feared to result in floods of cheaper Chinese products into Indonesia, causing a marketing problem for local products.

The technical barriers would include standards for sanitation and the use of pesticides based on the World Trade Organization rules, Hari Priyono, the head of the quarantine agency at the agriculture ministry, said.

Source:
Business in Asia Today - Jan 13, 2010
published by Asia Pulse

Reform the Main Challenge For Incoming Indonesian Customs Chief

Jakarta Globe, Dion Bisara

New Customs Director General Thomas Sugijata, left, with his predecessor Anwar Suprijadi and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati during Thomas’s inauguration in Jakarta on Thursday. (Antara Photo)

Thomas Sugijata took the helm at the Customs Directorate General on Thursday, replacing retiring Anwar Suprijadi. He faces challenges such as limited staff, continuing bureaucratic reforms and the China-Asean free-trade agreement, which took effect on Friday.

Thomas, 58, was secretary of the directorate from 2001 to 2005 and director of auditing from 2005 to 2009 before becoming head of investigation and enforcement in April. He was also head of the team to accelerate reforms in the customs service.

The director general said his first challenge was to use his limited personnel effectively to cover the vast nation. “We only have 10,600 personnel across the country. This is relatively small number compared to Malaysia, which has 13,000. Hong Kong has 5,000 to cover its small area,” Thomas said.

“But the government has no plan to add personnel in the near future, so I have to optimize our staff and strategically allocate personnel to critical areas,” Thomas said.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati urged the new director general to continue the reforms she initiated in 2004 by bringing in Anwar, an outsider to the directorate.

“It’s important to continue momentum in bringing back confidence in the customs office,” said Sri Mulyani, noting that Thomas was an insider of the directorate. “The Customs Directorate General should make earning state revenue its priority.”

During Anwar’s four-year tenure, the customs office was able to meets its revenue target. This year through Dec. 23, it had collected Rp 73.78 trillion ($7.8 billion), beating its goal by 2.8 percent. Before Anwar took over, the customs office missed its target of Rp 659 billion in 2005.

“It takes courage, a lot of it, particularly to deal with big business. If we can force the big ones to comply, then small ones will follow. And as the leader I had to give an example,” said Anwar, crediting reforms for his success.

Anwar said he hoped Thomas would continue his legacy of reform. “This is not easy and there are many challenges ahead,” he said.

Anwar also warned that with the China-Asean FTA already in place, the customs office had ensure compliance from Indonesia’s trade partners. “Sometimes we only focused on imposing tariffs and overlooked their compliance. Then we were surprised when waste was imported to our country,” he said.

Anwar pursuit of reform led him in 2007 to invite the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to inspect the custom office in Tanjung Priok, which led to the arrest of some of his staff.

Toto Dirgantoro, chairman of the Indonesian Exporters Association (GPEI), said the Custom Directorate General should cut down on rollover time at Indonesian ports. “I hope the new director general can improve the service. As he is from inside the directorate, he has more understanding about customs problems and can come up with more effective policies.”

Exports hit record high this year: BPS

Aditya Suharmoko, The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 12/01/2009 4:52 PM

Indonesia posted this year's record high in exports, selling US$11.88 billion of goods in October, amid falling demand caused by the global economic downturn, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced Tuesday.

"It was the second time exports surpassed $10 billion," BPS head Rusman Heriawan told a press conference.

Exports in October rose by 10.12 percent from a year earlier, and 20.72 percent from the previous month. Rusman said exports in October last year were low as the global financial crisis worsened.

Between January and October Indonesia exported $92.03 billion worth of goods, according to BPS.

The increase in exports was dominated by mining products, he said, while industrial and agricultural products dropped.

Imports in October rose by 11.16 percent to $9.47 billion from September, but dropped by 30.84 percent from October last year. Between January and October imports reached $15.05 billion, a 46.58 percent decline from the same period last year.

Indonesia Lifts Import Duty on Materials for Key Industries

The Jakarta Globe, Dion Bisara & Irvan Tisnabudi

Tourism is among the seven key service industries set to benefit from the lifting of import duties. (Photo: Adek Berry, AFP)

In a bid to boost investment and increase global competitiveness, the government on Wednesday scrapped the 5 percent import duty normally imposed on machinery and raw materials for seven vital service industries.

The Ministry of Finance said the regulation would take effect on Dec. 16 and would remain valid for two years before being re-evaluated.

The regulation covers transportation, telecommunications, public health, tourism and culture, as well as supporting services for mining, construction and ports and harbors.

Anggito Abimanyu, the Finance Ministry’s head of fiscal policy, said a similar tax break had been given to the manufacturing industry as part of the government’s Rp 73.3 trillion ($7.9 billion) fiscal stimulus package this year.

It was intended to help domestic companies compete in the global market and to attract investment.

“We decided to scrap the import duties for manufacturing industries to encourage domestic industries to open new plants or businesses,” Anggito said.

Jeffrey Mulyono, the head of the coal and geothermal commission at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said he welcomed the move.

“The existence of these [seven service industries] should be supported and [they should] have their taxes lowered to the lowest level possible, which will be beneficial for the local producers as well,” Jeffrey said.

“The Finance Ministry has finally fulfilled the wishes of local businesses by doing this,” Jeffrey added.

However, Erwin Aksa, the chairman of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Hipmi), said the removal of the import duty would not greatly benefit domestic industries until the government was able to provide sufficient basic infrastructure, especially power.

“As good as it is, the incentive will not immediately increase investment because what we really need now is electricity to be available and reliable,” Erwin said, referring to the power outages which have plagued the Great Jakarta area over the past two months.

Companies wishing to take advantage of the reduced import duty must contact the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

RI textile firms hit by flood of imports

Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 11/18/2009 9:34 PM

The share of domestic textile producers in the national market is going to plunge to 50 percent by the year-end, down from 65 percent last year, as a wave of cheap imports to hits the domestic market, an association says.

Ade Sudrajat, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Textile Association (API), said on Wednesday the dramatic drop in market share retained by RI firms was the result of a big jump in imported textile products flooding the market.

“That may cause domestic products to eventually control less than 50 percent of the national market share by the end of this year,” he told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a national textile conference.

Ade said the domestic market is now estimated to be worth Rp 70 trillion (about US$7.42 billion) by the end of this year.

“[This is because] the Trade Ministry has given too many import licenses to those [who claim to be] importers/producers, without verifications in the field,” he said, hinting that many of these textile imports might have been entering the country illegally.

RI to maintain exports to S Korea at US $10 billion

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia will maintain the value of its exports to South Korea in 2009 at US$10 billion, Trade Minister Mari Pengestu said. 

"Indonesia`s exports to South Korea until November 2008 were recorded at US$9 billion. It may possibly be close to US$10 billion until December," Pangestu said after the opening of "Indonesia-Korea CEO Business Dialogue" here on Saturday. 

She said Indonesia would focus on increasing the volume rather than the value of its exports with regard to the eight memorandums of understanding signed by the two countries that day. 

"With the MoUs we are not talking about increasing export value but how to maintain the export volume," she said. 

She admitted that the growth of trade between Indonesia and South Korea was quite high. However the country`s imports from that country were still twice its exports. 

"Indonesia`s exports to South Korea grew around 30 percent. Its imports however are even higher almost twice the figures," she said. 

She said this happened because South Korean investment was rising. The biggest imports are electronic components and raw materials needed by South Korean companies in the country. 

"So they are not finished products. This should be positive for Indonesia because investment is rising although the exports are not going to Korea but to other countries," she said referring as an example components imports for Samsung and LG electronic products. 

She said the country`s exports to South Korea in 2009 would be more of minerals, gas and coal. 

With regard to farm products she said "we cannot as yet be able to penetrate that country`s market because they impose a standard as high as that imposed by Japan for the products. Hopefully following the cooperation agreement situation will improve," she said.