22/04/2004 JAKARTA (Bisnis): The Ministry of Trade and Industry appointedPT Perusahaan Perdagangan Indonesia (PPI) as the trading house of thecounter trade program of the government, while Bank Mandiri would be theexecuting bank.The director of Export and Import Facilitation of the Ministry of Tradeand Industry, Andreas Anugrah, said that the government was of the opinionthat PPI and Bank Mandiri will be able to execute the counter tradeprogram of the government with other countries.

"For the certain cases we could conduct some review on the appointment ofthe two companies. But so far the minister is of the opinion that the twocompanies are able to handle this job," he said.

Slamet Effendi, the director for Bilateral Cooperation of the Ministry ofTrade and Industry, said that in the near future the government wouldconduct counter trade with Bangladesh and Iran.

"We have conducted some ministerial level meeting with Bangladesh andsigned a memorandum of understanding. And we are now talking with Iraniangovernment on this," he was quoted by the website of Business SolutionCenter of Trade and Industry Ministry.

He said that Indonesia could sell some products such as cement, naturalrubber and crude palm oil to Bangladesh and in return would be able toimport leather and cotton from the country.

"Of course there will be lots of products top be traded between the twocountries," he said.

On the counter trade with Iran, he said, the government had invited someofficials from the country to talk about the counter trade plan.

"In the meeting we will identify the products to be traded by the twocountries. Indonesia may sell some products such as food and rubber toIran," he said.

The data of Central Body of Statistic (BPS) showed that the Indonesianexport to Bangladesh in 2003 reached US$216.3 million while Indonesianimport from the country was around US$3 million.

Meanwhile Indonesian export to Iran as of October 2003 was US$157 million,and the import was US$48 million.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Rini MS Suwandi, said that the countertrade program was a breakthrough taken by the government to boost exportrevenue.(yus)