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Trading
Indonesia, a developing country rich in natural resources and boasting the 4th largest population in the world, maintains an extensive trade presence. In 2023, the national trade balance reached US$480.7 billion, having grown significantly compared to the pre-pandemic period in 2019, when it stood at US$338.96 billion. Moreover, as of March 2024, the country has officially recorded a trade balance surplus for its 47th consecutive month.
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Trading
Indonesia, a developing country rich in natural resources and boasting the 4th largest population in the world, maintains an extensive trade presence. In 2023, the national trade balance reached US$480.7 billion, having grown significantly compared to the pre-pandemic period in 2019, when it stood at US$338.96 billion. Moreover, as of March 2024, the country has officially recorded a trade balance surplus for its 47th consecutive month.
In terms of exports, Indonesia’s top export commodity has historically been mineral-based fuels, especially coal. However, in the global market, Indonesia is a superpower in the exports of vegetable oils, particularly palm oil, having captured roughly 20 percent of the market with a total export value of US$35.2 billion in 2022. Behind that, Indonesia also leads in nickel exports, with a total export value reaching US$5.8 trillion or 14 percent of global exports.
In 2023, China emerged as Indonesia’s top partner for both exports and imports, with a total annual value of US$62.3 billion and US$62.2 billion, respectively. Meanwhile, the nation’s next top export destination is the US, with a total annual value of US$ 23.2 billion, while the next top import country of origin is Japan, with a total annual value of US$ 16.4 billion.
For trades on the level of individual consumers, the main driver of growth has been the rise in e-commerce throughout the past few years. E-commerce gross market value (GMV) grew by 20 percent from US$48 billion in 2021 to US$58 billion in 2022. This growth persisted to 2023, as e-commerce GMV grew by 7 percent to US$62 billion. E-commerce grew rapidly as it provided a means for Indonesian consumers to maintain access to goods and services during the pandemic period of 2020-2022. However, by the time the pandemic ended, e-commerce had grown ubiquitous and became a staple in the day-to-day lives of the average Indonesian.
Meanwhile, the domestic retail sector in Indonesia is driven by the sale of automotives. The retail of automotives alone in the country reached a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$174.35 billion in 2023, contributing to roughly 13.53 percent of Indonesia’s total GDP of US$1.3 trillion for that year at current market prices. Moreover, the country also achieved a per capita GDP of US$ 4,919.
Strong trade growth followed by increasing access to goods has bolstered local consumer confidence in Indonesia despite the period of uncertainty throughout 2023. According to Bank Indonesia’s monthly consumer confidence survey, Indonesians entered 2024 with high confidence, with the confidence index rising from 123.8 in December 2023 to 125.0 in January 2024. Moreover, this increase is even higher compared to same period the previous year, as a consumer confidence index of 123.0 was recorded for January 2023.
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West Sulawesi Province has 145,000 hectares (ha) of land with good potential for cocoa cultivation, with the province's cocoa production level reaching 76,000 tons per year. Polewali Mandar Regency accounted for almost half of the province's total cocoa production at 35,000 tons per year.
West Sulawesi cocoa has the potential to become Indonesia's main supplier of exported cocoa beans, as 12,800 tons of cocoa per year have been exported from the province to various countries, such as China, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, and America. West Sulawesi also has considerable human resources who are already skilled in cocoa production, as the province's people has been cultivating the commodity for some time.
In addition, cocoa has a positive impact on the agricultural sector of West Sulawesi. The province's agriculture sector also contributed 46.11 percent to West Sulawesi's overall gross domestic product (GDP), and its economic growth in 2024 - which reached 4.78 percent.
However, there are challenges that must be anticipated regarding the development of cocoa production in West Sulawesi, including the fact that cocoa is susceptible to pests and diseases such as heliopeltis attacks and fruit rot disease.
To support the cocoa cultivation program, the West Sulawesi Provincial Government has allocated a budget of around Rp15 billion in the West Sulawesi Province regional budget for the cocoa seed procurement program, the cocoa grafting program, and to overcome the problem of pests and diseases afflicting cocoa plants.
The initial stage of West Sulawesi's cocoa cultivation for 2025 is expected to benefit around 10,000 residents in Polewali Mandar Regency who are cultivating cocoa. The program is expected to improve the economic conditions and welfare of the local farming community and overcome poverty.
Farmers in Polewali Mandar Regency enthusiastically welcomed the West Sulawesi Provincial Government's program. Basri, one of said farmers admitted that he had chosen to plant cocoa to improve his welfare amid welcoming market conditions, with cocoa price continuing to rise, and the provision of cultivation assistance by the regional government.
West Sulawesi Plantation Service Plantation Product Processing and Marketing (PPHP) Head Agustina Palimbong stated that the 2025-2029 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) assigned West Sulawesi as a development area and center for coca manufacturing nationally.
Meanwhile, part of West Sulawesi's population in poverty and extreme poverty reached 10.71 percent and 1.7 percent of the province's 1.5 million population, with poor people in general accounting for 11.32 percent of the province's rural population. The majority of the rural poor rely on farming for their livelihood.
Additionally 60 percent of West Sulawesi's population are farmers. Therefore, the cocoa cultivation program is expected to benefit agricultural enterprises and improve the welfare of farmers.
"Cocoa will be a leading commodity in West Sulawesi for the next 10 years because it has clear economic prospects and market opportunities. In addition, the [commodity's] price [trend] promises to improve people's welfare and advance the regional economy," emphasized West Sulawesi Governor Suhardi Duka.
