Dubai Chambers’ new analysis on UAE-Indonesian bilateral relations identified that there is significant potential for Indonesian companies to increase exports to the UAE, particularly in the categories of commodities, industrial goods, and textiles, with high-potential opportunities for merchants in both countries.
The analysis was released by Dubai Chamber in the lead-up to the inaugural Global Business Forum ASEAN (GBF ASEAN), a high-level business forum organized by the Chamber in partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai. Taking place December 8-9, 2021 at Expo 2020 Dubai, the event is being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The UAE was ranked as one of Indonesia’s top 20 import partners last year. Indonesia was ranked 52nd and 33rd among the UAE’s major export and import markets in the same time. This indicates that there is an enormous array of untapped opportunities to increase cooperation and bilateral trade between the two countries.
The analysis identified 10 high-potential products that Indonesian traders can export to the UAE. The UAE’s imports of these ten products in 2020 were valued at $125 million, but Indonesia’s share of the UAE’s imports of these products was less than 15 percent.
Clothing, wood, prawns, coffee and coconut products were highlighted as in-demand Indonesian products that can be exported to the UAE and re-exported through the country to African, European and Middle Eastern markets.
Hamam Buamim President & CEO Dubai Chamber
“Indonesia is a market of strategic importance to Dubai and Dubai Chamber members. The recent analysis highlights the wide array of trade opportunities in the Indonesian market, which offers tremendous potential to trading companies in the UAE.”
The top ten products that may be exported from the UAE to Indonesia include raw gold, unwrought aluminum, and ethylene polymers. The value of Indonesia’s imports of these commodities in 2020 was estimated to be over $307 million, with the UAE contributing just 15 percent of that value.
Mr. Buamim noted that Indonesia earlier this year became the first Southeast Asian nation to join the World Logistics Passport (WLP), which opened new doors for traders in the Indonesian market to boost trade flows with Dubai and other emerging markets around the world.
According to the findings, Indonesia has a lot of capacity to enhance its food security cooperation with the UAE, since the Southeast Asian country was the world’s seventh-largest food producer in 2020, while the UAE imports nearly 80 percent of its food requirements.
In addition, infrastructure was regarded as a sector where UAE companies can tap into attractive investment opportunities in the Indonesian market, as Indonesia is looking to boost its infrastructure spending to more than $430 billion over the next years.
