
InfoSAWIT, UZBEKISTAN - Ministry of Trade kept expanding the trade to non-traditional regions, including Central Asia. The latest strategy was having trade mission to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Thursday, 23 May. It successfully booked potential transaction up to USD 11,1 million or about Rp 177,7 billion. The trade mission in Tashkent had some significant events, such as, business forum, one – on one business matching, and the meeting with related parties in Uzbekistan. Ministry of Trade also facilitated 19 stakeholders/businessmen from many sectors, such as, halal products (food and drink, cosmetic, body care, and fashion); coffee and tea, textile, coconut products, and palm oil derivative products.
General Director of National Export Development Ministry of Trade, Didi Sumedi said that Indonesia would be committed to escalate the trade values with other potential countries, including Uzbekistan. “I do hope the trade mission would be the first forum for us in Uzbekistan as the significant moment to have bilateral relation between both countries to explore the trade cooperation,” Didi said in the business forum in, as in the official statement to InfoSAWIT, Thursday (30/5/2024).
He also said that both countries have had similarities, such as, the population is mostly Ismal that could reinforce the strong base to get cooperation. “Geographically, Uzbekistan is in Central Asia and has the potential to be the product hub for Indonesia to trade in Central Asia. In the contrary, Indonesia is the strategic country in Southeast Asia to be the product hug for Uzbekistan to trade in Associatio of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN),” he explained.
The Ambassador of Indonesia for Republic of Uzbekistan, Sunaryo Kartadinata said that in the past few years, the trade balance between both countries showed the positive. “Indonesia successfully introduced kinds of mainstay products to Uzbekistan, such as, agricultural products (coffee) to manufacturer products (textile and garment). Such qualified products from Indonesia are the favorite in the country and creating the big chances to increase exports from Indonesia to the country,” Sunaryo said.
In the past five years (2019 – 2023), the total trade between the two countries showed the positive with the trend up to 49 percent. In the period, the exports from Indonesia to Uzbekistan got increased 25,22 percent, while the imports to Indonesia from Uzbekistan developed 54,98 percent.
In January — March 2024, the total trade between the two countries reached US$ 35,3 million, escalated 63,9 percent from the same period in the previous year. In the period, the exports from Indonesia to Uzbekistan reached US$ 3,3 million, while the imports to Indonesia from Uzbekistan reached US$ 32 million. In 2023, the total trade for both countries reached US$ 141,1 million with the exports from Indonesia to Uzbekistan reached US$ 16,3 million and imports to Indonesia from Uzbekistan reached US$ 124,7 million.
In 2023, the main exports from Indonesia to Uzbekistan were margarine/fat or vegetable oil and its fraction (59,84 percent of the total exports from Indonesia), electric machine (11,07 percent), extract, essence and coffee and tea concentrate (7,07 percent), crude palm oil and palm kernel oil (4,79 percent). The potential export products from Indonesia to Uzbekistan are vegetable oils, vehicles for transportation, and palm oil. On the other hand, the main imports to Indonesia from Uzbekistan were mineral fertilizers or the chemical and calium (94,44 percent of the total imports to Indonesia), and fiber pulp (5,39 percent). (T2)