The current trade war between the United States of America and China is expected to affect trade in Indonesia, says Sanny Iskandar, Deputy of Regional Economic Development at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin).
Sanny said that China may start eyeing up Indonesia as a major export destination, since they have lost the American market.
“Because they lost their market in the United States, China is looking for opportunities to export to other nations, especially the Asian region, including Indonesia,” Sanny added. This would mean that Chinese goods will enter the Indonesian market on a massive scale.
Sanny added that Indonesia is a target market for China because it has a large population. The competitiveness of the domestic industry is, however, still not strong enough to produce similar goods to China.
Chinese products expected to invade the Indonesian market range from food and beverages, to textiles and garments, which used to be exported to the USA. Sanny also claims that Indonesia must be ready to improve the quality of its products. “Indonesia could actually seize this momentum to export to America,” he said.
Source: Tempo
Image: Nikkei Asian Review