TEMPO.CO, Jakarta- Trade Policy Forum (TRAP Forum) Chairman Hartanto Reksodipoetro said it will be hard for Indonesia to compete in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) as Indonesia only relies on commodity sector. “It will be difficult to battle in TPP,” Hartanto said Wednesday, November 25.
Hartanto said compared to ASEAN countries, Indonesia’s commodity export ranks first with 79.6 percent. “Other countries like Thailand is at 18.5 percent, Malaysia 30.2 percent, Philippines 14.5 percent and Vietnam 16.7 percent,” he said.
For exports in manufacturing sector, Indonesia is relatively low with just 8.6 percent compared to other countries like Thailand with 62 percent, Malaysia 55.4 percent, Philippines 56.8 percent and Vietnam 76.9 percent.
Meanwhile, in service sector, Indonesia is only at 11.8 percent, while other countries such as Thailand reaches 19 percent, Malaysia 14.4 percent, Philippines 28.7 percent and Vietnam at 6.4 percent.
Indonesia needs to learn the overall TPP agreement further, as the competition requires abundant preparations not only related to policies and regulations, but also preparation from sectors which will be offered in the TPP.
ABDUL AZIS
