Indonesia reaps more through trading with East African Community than what the EAC gets from Jakarta
The Ambassador of Indonesia accredited to the East African Community Tri Yogo Jatmiko, paid a courtesy visit to the East African Business Council in Arusha on Wednesday, August 14, and discussed the potential for negotiating preferential trade agreement between the EAC and Indonesia.
During the meeting, the Acting Executive Director of the East African Business Council (EABC), Adrian Njau revealed that the total exports of goods from the EAC region to Indonesia are currently valued at USD 117 million.
On the other hand, according to the International Trade Center (ITC), the East African Community imports goods worth USD 597.1 million from Indonesia making the balance of trade unfavorable to EAC.
Ambassador Tri Yogo Jatmiko noted that 60 percent of Indonesia’s trade is with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, while Africa accounts for only 4 percent of such transactions.
Indonesia is the 15th largest economy globally, the largest in ASEAN, and a member of the G20 with a population of 280 million.
Envoy Tri Yogo Jatmiko emphasized that improving direct connectivity to East Africa will strengthen trade ties and engagements between business persons.
The Ambassador explained, Indonesia is committed to diversifying its sources of imports and advancing its economy by enhancing manufacturing output and expanding global trade ties.
East African Community’s top exported products to Indonesia in 2023 were cocoa beans (USD 90.9 million), unmanufactured tobacco (USD 15 million), and skins and sheep of lamb (USD 3.4 million).
Imports from Indonesia included palm oil (USD 285.54 million), paper (USD 59.6 million), semi-finished iron products (USD 43 million), bulldozers and graders (USD 25.7 million), and machinery equipment (USD 10 million).
“There is a growing interest in trade and investment between EAC and Indonesia. An economic agreement would provide preferential tariffs and open the Indonesian market to EAC products such as wheat, soybeans, rice, vegetables, cocoa beans, and food preparations,” said the EABC Director Njau.
In 2023, Indonesia’s total imports from the world for wheat amounted to USD 3.8 billion, soybeans USD 1.5 billion, rice USD 1.7 billion, vegetables USD 743 million, cocoa beans USD 732 million, and food preparations USD 701 million.
Recently Indonesia investors have signed an agreement with Tanzania authorities to establish multimillion fertilizer factories which will use available natural gas as its raw material.
The EABC is committed to partnering with business associations in Indonesia to promote trade and investment ties through joint exhibitions, conferences, and business missions.
Other areas of discussion included agriculture and agro-processing, education and capacity building, tourism and cultural exchange, technology transfer, and business and advocacy support.