Examining Export Diversification Policy: The Case of Indonesia and Southern African Customs Union (SACU)

Deskripsi

Indonesian government is determined to diversify its exports to more non-traditional markets. This paper estimates the potential of Indonesia's trade with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) countries. We use an augmented gravity model with feasible generalized least square (FGLS) estimator, revealed comparative advantage (RCA) index, constant market share analysis (CMSA) index on trade flows data for the period 2003-2022 The results indicates that trade relation between Indonesia and SACU countries is in line with Linder theory of trade, which states that similar countries tend to trade more. Furthermore, the finding emphasizes the importance of Indonesia-SACU preferential trade agreement to reduce or eliminate tariffs which otherwise will increase trade between both parties.