New Trade Horizons: Promoting Mexico-Indonesian Trade

Acknowledging the potential for trade, and to commemorate 70 years of the establishment of bilateral relations between Mexico and Indonesia, the Embassy of Indonesia in Mexico organized Expo Indonesia Mexico 2023, offering a unique opportunity to dive into the Indonesian culture and people, while creating business opportunities and fostering trade between both countries. 

According to the Indonesian Ambassador to Mexico, Cheppy Triprakoso Wartono, trade between Mexico and Indonesia increased significantly from US$105 million in 2019 to $1.605 billion in 2022, marking the highest figure registered in the history of bilateral relations between the two countries.

During the opening ceremony of the expo, Ambassador Triprakoso mentioned that the Embassy had intended to run this event in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic halted this project. He highlighted Indonesia's potential in the fields of trade, tourism and culture. This is why Expo Indonesia Mexico 2023 is a unique platform to show the potential of these three sectors. 

From August 3 to 6, 2023, Expo Indonesia will bring together over 46 Indonesian companies from the automotive, textile, chemical, paper and food and  beverage sectors, among other important industries. The expo will also have booths for each one of the Indonesian provinces and the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, as well as booths for invited Mexican states like Queretaro, Colima, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Tamaulipas, Quintana Roo and Veracruz. The expo will also have industry and expert panels from Mexico and Indonesia that will discuss important factors to promote trade between both countries.  

According to Jorge López, Vice President, COMCE, Indonesia is a market that Mexico should look at more, as it has over 270 million inhabitants, which is more than double Mexico's population. Additionally, Indonesia is deeply involved with other South Asian countries like Malaysia. “We always complain about logistics being a barrier to accessing international markets, but Indonesian companies show us that a well-organized logistics strategy can yield good results,” López stated.

López mentioned that Mexico has been trying to enter the Indonesian market in the agri-food sector. However, it must comply with the Halal certification, since Indonesia holds the largest Muslim population in both Asia and the world. There have been successful cases of Mexican companies making products in the Asian country and importing them to Mexico. 

Margarita Alcántara, Director General of Global Investment, Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), says Expo Indonesia Mexico 2023 offers a great platform to expand both markets and to strengthen Mexico’s and Indonesia’s positions in each others’ regions, as well as promoting cooperation and cultural exchanges. “Today, Indonesia is the 27th largest trade partner for Mexico, globally, and 11th in the Asia-Pacific region. However, we believe that there is a long way to go and many opportunities ahead that we must harness,” Alcántara added.  

According to the Mexican Ministry of Economy (SE), in 2022 the main export product to Indonesia was cell phones, with an estimated value of US$15.2 million. In the same vein, the main imported product were automobiles, with an estimated value of US$300 million.