The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said it could not provide a definite answer regarding the impact of calls for a boycott of Israeli products on imports to Indonesia. BPS stated that further study was needed regarding this matter.
“We cannot answer directly, because there needs to be a special study regarding this matter,” said BPS Deputy for Distribution and Services Statistics, Pudji Ismartini in a press conference regarding Indonesia’s trade balance for the October period at his office, Jakarta, Wednesday (15/11/2023) .
Pudji said that even if the call for a boycott would have an impact, it would take time to see the impact. He said whether there was an impact from this appeal would only be seen in the BPS release regarding Indonesia’s export-import performance next month.
“When we release imports and exports in the following month, whether there is a change or not may be one of the phenomena that can answer that question,” he said.
Calls for a boycott of Israeli products echoed after the Zionist state carried out aggression against the Gaza region since mid-October. This Israeli attack was a response to the attack launched by Hamas on October 7.
The Israeli attack, which is estimated to have resulted in many civilian casualties, has shocked some of the world’s citizens. Some time after the attack, the Boycott, Divestment, Sanction (BDS) Movement emerged against products affiliated with Israel as sanctions for the attack which allegedly violated many international laws.
In Indonesia, the Indonesian Ulema Council issued Fatwa Number 83 of 2023, containing the Law of Support for Palestine. In this Fatwa it is stated that supporting the struggle for Palestinian independence against Israeli aggression is obligatory. On the other hand, supporting Israel and supporting products that support Israel are haram.
BPS Deputy for Distribution and Services Statistics, Pudji Ismartini, believes that the boycott movement against Israeli products will not have much effect on Indonesia’s export-import performance. This is because the contribution of exports and imports from Israel and Palestine is very small.
He said Indonesia’s exports to Palestine from January to October 2023 were only 0.0011%. Thus, its contribution to Indonesia’s total exports is very small. Meanwhile, Israel only reached 0.07% of Indonesia’s total exports in the same period.
“It can be concluded that political conditions in the two countries are not significant to Indonesia’s international trade performance. Political conditions in Ukraine-Russia also have no significant effect on international trade performance in Indonesia where the main commodity imported from Ukraine is cereals,” said Pudji.
Source: CNBC
