Preferential Trade Agreement expected to increase Indonesia-Iran trade
Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The trade cooperation between Indonesia and Iran has generated a value of US$106.4 million during the January-September 2019 period.
Of the value Indonesia enjoyed a surplus of US$85.6 million, said Indonesian Ambassador to Iran Octavino Alimudin at the Indonesian Trade Promotion Forum organized by the Iranian Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) in Tehran on Tuesday (Dec 31, 2019) .
On the occasion, the ambassador explained that the value of the two countries’ trade was higher than that of the Persian country with several other Southeast Asian countries.
The value of Iran’s imports into Indonesia reached US$18.9 million, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry website said here on Thursday.
According to Ambassador Octaviano, a number of prospective commodities from Iran include LPG gas, dates, pistachios, medicines, medical devices, and steel. While prospective commodities from Indonesia include coffee, tea, textiles, garments, medicines and paper.
For Iran, Indonesia is a large market with 260 million people and a hub in the Southeast Asian region.
PTA
Although Indonesia and Iran enjoy increased trade cooperation, there are still some challenges that must be resolved by the two countries, namely the payment system, transportation, business risk and import restriction policies for products that can be produced in Iran.
Therefore, the two countries will complete the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) negotiations as well as increase promotion and facilitate exports of the two countries.
Some Indonesian products circulating in the Iranian market are coffee, instant coffee, soap, biscuits, floor cleaning liquid, palm oil, paper, candy, and air freshener.
Reporting by Indonesia Window
