Indonesia plans to boost trade with Nigeria

Director General of the National Export Development at the trade ministry Nus Nuzulia Ishak said, on Friday, that Indonesia has planned to enhance trade with Nigeria, targeting bilateral trade volume at 5 billion U.S. dollars within the next three years.

According to Xinhua Reports, trade enhancement between the two countries is based on the facts that both Indonesia and Nigeria have large populations and have continued to see high economic growth in the last few years.

The move was also part of the Indonesian government’s plan to seek alternative markets for its exports following the economic downturns in Europe and the United States, two economies that have been major markets for Indonesian commodities.

“We would prioritize competitive commodities in trade enhancement with the involved countries,” Ishak was quoted as saying.

Sectors that have been picked up to enhance trade with Nigeria are food and beverages, energy and related business and airplane maintenance to facilitate connectivity between the two countries, Nus said.

“Nigeria is an influential country in Africa. Should Indonesia be able to establish strong ties with that country, Indonesia would be capable to cooperate with Africa,” Nus said.

Nus added that Indonesia is now apparently the largest trade partner to Nigeria in the Southeast Asia region.

Strong growth was recorded in two-way trade volume between the two nations in 2012 which reached 3.18 billion dollars, or 50 percent higher than 2.09 billion U.S. dollars in 2011.

Indonesia exports oil, vegetable fats, paper products, pharmacy, soaps, electronics to Nigeria, while Nigeria exports oil, cotton and leather to Indonesia.