Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade said 168 memorandums of understanding valued at $13.2 billion were signed on the first day of Trade Expo Indonesia, putting export-market access at the center of the event.
Indonesian businesses signed the MoUs with buyers from 22 countries on Wednesday, Oct. 14, the ministry said. It set a separate target of $17.5 billion in potential transactions for the fair, which is scheduled to run through Sunday, Oct. 18, in Tangerang.
The signings followed business matching before the expo. Products with the largest MoU values included bakery products, coal and coal briquettes, furniture and parts, and uncoated paper and cardboard; the ministry also listed investment in services. It named the Netherlands, India and Japan among the countries with the largest potential transaction values.
The $13.2 billion is the stated value of the MoUs. The ministry’s announcements do not establish how much, if any, will become binding contracts, completed shipments or export revenue.
Separately, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported exports of $193.64 billion from January through August, up 4.74% from the same period in 2025. August exports were $26.61 billion, a 6.72% year-over-year increase. Because those figures end before the expo opened, they cannot show whether the event increased exports.
The ministry presents the expo as a way to widen overseas buyer access for Indonesian businesses and support higher-value exports through downstream processing and industrialization. It identifies exporters and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) as intended beneficiaries. The ministry said Indonesia had implemented 25 trade agreements and was negotiating 13 more; its export-matching support for MSMEs uses 46 Indonesian trade representative offices across 33 countries.
The ministry said the event had registered buyers from 134 countries and attracted 1,873 exhibitors by opening day. It is also aiming for 30,000 visitors. The expo is scheduled to close Sunday, Oct. 18.
