Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia`s import of machinery and mechanical appliances last year reached about US$20 billion or 18.49 percent of its overall non-oil/non-gas imports, Industry and Trade Minister MS Hidayat said.

"The import of machinery and mechanical appliances has increased significantly all the time in line with the growth of manufacturing industries in the country," he said when addressing the opening of a machinery expo on MTT Expo here on Wednesday.

In his address read out by Director General of Manufacturing Industry Basis at the Industry Ministry Panggah Susanto, the minister said a number of machinery producing countries were also main machinery importers.

In 2010, the machinery production of the world`s 28 main machinery producing countries rose 21 percent to US$66.3 billion from a year earlier, he said.

China, Germany and Japan were among the biggest consumers of mechanical appliances last year, with a value of US$27.28 billion, US$5.03 billion and US$5.3 billion each, he said.

However, Japan and Germany were also the biggest exporters of machinery last year by earning US$7.83 billion and US$6.62 billion respectively, he said.

Germany was also the third biggest importer of mechanical appliances last year with a value of US$1.9 billion after China with US$9.1 billion, and the US with US$2.1 billion, he said.

"By holding the MTT Expo 2011 attended by almost 500 participants from 20 countries such as Britain, the US, Japan, Germany, France, Turkey and China, I hope this expo can bridge industrial development by way of technological transfer to improve the competitive edge of products," he said.

He predicted that Indonesia`s demand for mechanical appliances and metalwork machinery would continue to increase in line with the growth of national industries and economic development under an economic corridor program and acceleration and expansion of Indonesian economic development (MP3EI) scheme.(*)

Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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