Indonesia Begins Push into U.S. Market

Tag : jewelry hong kong
Indonesia Begins Push into U.S. Market William George Shuster and Anthony DeMarco, Senior Editors --JCK-Jewelers Circular Keystone, 7/28/2008 4:08:00 PM
The Indonesian jewelry industry officially introduced itself to theU.S. jewelry market Monday with a ceremony at the JA New York Summer Show led by the country’s ambassador to the United States.
Ambassador Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat explained that while theUnited States is Indonesia’s second largest jewelry partner,the U.S. ranks at about 10th in jewelry exports from the SoutheastAsian nation. The ambassador said the country is looking to improvethose numbers.
"We are coming to boost our presence here [in the U.S. market]and enhance our position as one of largest manufactured silverjewelry suppliers," the ambassador said. "We look forwardto working with you."
Indonesia is a nation of 18,000 islands and 230 million people, theambassador explained. It has an abundance of precious metals andgems. Its ancient silver, gem, and jewelry industry has developedover hundreds of years. Today, about one million Indonesians workin it, with a large focus on hand-crafted jewelry.
Indonesia's jewelry industry is "blessed with (an abundanceof) raw materials for precious and semi-precious gems, and withfine craftsmanship," Parnohadiningrat said.
The ambassador spoke at the show’s Indonesian Pavilionconsisting of 16 jewelry making firms, displaying items made ofsilver, gold, gemstones, and other materials—including stoneand wood. The delegation was organized by the National Agency for Export Development , in the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia .
It is the country’s first significant presence at a U.S.trade show and it is serving as a first step to building a strongpresence in the U.S., the ambassador told JCK prior to his formal presentation.
Even without a strong U.S. presence, The Indonesian jewelryindustry has been growing at an average rate of 7 percent per year,earning $4.61 billion in 2006, the ambassador said. Its largesttrading partners are Middle Eastern countries, Hong Kong,Singapore, and China, he told JCK.
In addition, the ambassador and the country’s tradeorganizations were there to promote its upcoming TRADEXPO Indonesia , a merchandise and commodity show. It is being held Oct. 21-25 atthe Jakarta International Expo, Kemayoran-Jakarta, Indonesia.