Turkish body seeks $1.5B trade with Indonesian SMEs

By Pizaro Gozali Idrus

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) - Turkey's Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD) on Friday invited Indonesian Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the Turkish market, targeting $1.5 billion in transactions by 2023.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Doddy Cleveland Hidayat Putra, president of MUSIAD Indonesia, said the target for trade between Indonesia and Turkey was $10 billion by 2023.

"We aim for 20% to come from SMEs, which is around $1.5-2 billion," said Putra.

He said the exports made by the country's SMEs, including vanilla, coconut charcoal, coffee, chocolate, handicrafts, textiles, traditional medicine, herbal medicine and packaged snacks had great potential in the Turkish market.

Putra said that in 2020, an Indonesian coconut charcoal briquettes company was opened in Istanbul under the auspices of the Indonesian Coconut Charcoal Entrepreneurs Association (PERPAKI), which is currently supervising 300 companies.

"However, communication between the businessmen from both countries is still lacking," he said, adding that the body intends to facilitate Indonesian entrepreneurs to participate in the MUSIAD Expo in November.

The theme of the expo will be the Indonesian Entrepreneurs' Journey, said Putra, adding that this would emphasize the spirit of boosting economic cooperation between Indonesia and Turkey.

"To enter the Turkish market, we have to optimize participation in several trade events in Turkey," he continued.

Putra said there were more than 20 Indonesian companies, state-owned firms and SMEs registered at the expo to promote local products.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Indonesian Consulate-General in Istanbul held a virtual discussion with government officials and Indonesians doing business in Turkey on how to enter the Turkish market.

During the discussion, Indonesian Consul-General Imam Asy'ari emphasized the need to be proactive, such as by following a product promotion event schedule to uncover market characteristics and understand product quality regulations in Turkey.

"Indonesian SMEs need to build business networks, including channels with the diaspora business community in Turkey, to get best practices, and synergize to grip the market," he added.

* Writing by Rhany Chairunissa Rufinaldo from Anadolu Agency's Indonesian language services in Jakarta