How is the last export growth of West Papua in the last decade?
The provinces of Papua and West Papua make up the third-largest tropical forest globally. They basically make the last stand the last remaining resource for climate change mitigation. With over 20% of the remaining forest areas in Indonesia, the impact of both import and export growth affects this region significantly.
The Latest Reports So Far …
In September 2021, Airlangga Hartanto, the Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs, stated that the economic growth in the second quarter of 2021 did not look too good for both Papua and West Papua. The result was minus 2.39%, which was way below the national target of 7.07%.
“This must be a serious concern for the local government,” Airlangga Hartanto stated during the meeting with the regional government of West Papua in Sorong on September 3, 2021. According to him, in terms of business, the contraction experienced by the manufacturing sector with a limited share of 2.61%, went as low as minus 9.79%.
The transportation and warehouse sector has been the highest growth so far. Based on the latest result, with a 2.61% share, it grew by 13.18%. Since the service and trade sectors dominate the economic growth of this region, they also affect how the import and export sectors grow here.
Based on the CEIC Reports:
CEIC (Census and Economic Information Centre) compiled an interesting finding regarding the last export growth of West Papua in the last half of the decade. The research was dated from January 2015 to June 2021.
The highest peak so far occurred in July 2020, which was 728,070. For the rest of the second quarter of 2020, the numbers declined. The lowest was in October 2020, which was 490,860. Sometime after that, the export growth went back up slightly before increasing significantly in December 2020. The second peak had gone as high as 688,130.
The first quarter of 2021 (January – June) started off as a mild slippery slope. The peak went down a few notches in January, which was 643,220. After that, the export growth went downhill instead in February, which was 462,020. Sometime after that, there was a faint hope that it would go back up, although not as far as how it went in April. The number was only as far as 523,130.
However, the export growth in West Papua declined significantly in May which was 398,460. There was another significant leap when the number went up as high as 547,100 in June.
How the Covid-19 Pandemic Has Also Affected the Export Growth in West Papua
In 2020, the world was at their lowest point in life. The Covid-19 pandemic started, which had turned many countries and cities to limit their interaction with one another. This, in turn, had also affected the import and export businesses around the world. It was also no different from the export growth in West Papua.
Because of this, there had been some serious limitations regarding sending and receiving things over. It was no wonder that so many people were afraid of catching the virus, either from the things sent over to them or the people bringing things over. As paranoid as it may have sounded, many people preferred to be on the safe side in 2020.
The latest report on the Covid-19 cases in West Papua has been discouraging as well. Airlangga Hartanto stated that the region still has the highest cases of Corona-virus infection. Another region in Indonesia that also has the highest cases in 2022 is Lampung. Papua has 12,000 active cases, while Lampung has 7,400 active cases. West Sumatra also has 2,500 active cases.
Ironically, the results above contradicted the national results, which continued to drop down to 602 cases per day. In total, so far, it has been around 60,000. Compared to April 2021, the significant drop in numbers is as far as 90%.
However, Airlangga also pointed out that the first mass vaccination coverage in West Papua was pretty low so far, which was below 70%. The second coverage was even lower, which was below 50%.
What to Do To Increase the Export Growth of West Papua?
Based on the reports and coverage above, the last export growth of West Papua in the last decade has been a constant challenge. The export growth should not lead to deforestation since it will damage the region and the whole world in the long run. Plus, many indigenous Papuans need to be involved in many policies and reap the direct benefits as well.
Another solution to this problem is more coverage and health access for the indigenous Papuans and West Papuans. That way, the curve of the Covid-19 cases might be flattened once again. After all, 2022 is the year many people are getting back on their feet again. Hopefully, that also includes people in West Papua.
