The bilateral meeting between Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukito and Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo can be a momentum to boost trade between the two countries. This is especially important for improving Indonesia's export market to reduce Indonesia's trade deficit.
Data from the Ministry of Trade shows that Indonesia has consistently recorded a trade deficit with Australia from 2012-2016. In the January-June 2017 period, the Indonesia-Australia trade balance again recorded a deficit of US$1.67 billion, or approximately Rp 22.3 trillion. This figure jumped almost twofold from the same period the previous year, which was valued at US$854.98 million. This amount also reached 82 percent of the total deficit throughout 2016, which reached US$2.1 billion.
During the first half of 2017, Indonesia's imports from Australia increased by 16.2 percent to US$2.87 billion. Meanwhile, Indonesia's exports to Australia increased by 26 percent to Rp 1.2 billion.
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