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Indonesia has played a modest role in the world economy since the mid-20th century, and its importance has been considerably less than its size, resources, and geographic position would seem to warrant. The country is a major exporter of crude petroleum and natural gas. In addition, Indonesia is one of the world’s main suppliers of rubber, coffee, cocoa, and palm oil; it also produces a wide range of other commodities, such as sugar, tea, tobacco, copra, and spices (e.g., cloves). Nearly all commodity production comes from large estates. Widespread exploration for deposits of oil and other minerals has resulted in a number of large-scale projects that have contributed substantially to general development funds.
Although Indonesia has remained a major importer of manufactured goods, high technology, and technical skills since the early 1970s, the country’s economic base has shifted from the primary sector to secondary and tertiary industries—manufacturing, trade, and services. Manufacturing surpassed agriculture in terms of contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) in the early 1990s and has continued to be the largest single component of the country’s economy. A significant portion of the national budget has continued to be allocated to agriculture, however; consequently, the country has remained self-sufficient in rice production since the mid-1980s.
During the early years of Indonesia’s independence, economic mismanagement and the subordination of development to political ideals under the “Guided Economy” policy of the country’s first president, Sukarno (1949–66), led to financial chaos and to a serious deterioration in the capital stock. With a major change of economic direction after Suharto assumed power in the mid-1960s, some measure of stability was regained, and the conditions for an orderly policy of rehabilitation and economic development were established.
From 1969 to 1998 a series of five-year plans emphasized the government’s role in developing the economic infrastructure of the country, notably in agriculture, irrigation, transportation, and communications. Thus, the government, together with foreign aid, has been a major force in propelling development in areas where private enterprise has not been immediately forthcoming; the state-owned oil company Pertamina was a product of these government initiatives. In the late 20th century, the emphasis in the public sector tended increasingly toward independent, self-financing state enterprises.
Substantial expansion of the private sector has been evident since the mid-1990s. Prior to that time, growth generally had been confined to a rather small group of conglomerates, most benefiting from the government’s favour. Small business was slower to develop. The deregulation of the capital market in the early 1980s triggered spectacular growth in the stock exchange, but despite the increase in domestic investment, direct participation in the stock market remained limited to a very small group of investors.
Foreign direct investment spiked in the 1990s but rapidly receded in the aftermath of the Asian economic crisis sparked by the collapse of the Thai baht in 1997. The government subsequently inaugurated a four-year national development plan that helped return the economy to its precrisis strength. By 2003 the country was stable enough to allow the expiration of an economic reform program that had been sponsored by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A new development strategy involving liberalization in some areas and limitation of foreign ownership in others has aimed to establish Indonesia as a fully self-sufficient (swasembada) country in the 21st century.
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
The consistent monsoon climate and almost even distribution of rainfall in Indonesia make it possible for the same types of crops to be grown throughout the country. Less than one-fifth of the total land surface, however, is devoted to crop cultivation. Most agricultural land is dedicated to rice or to various cash crops. Intensive cultivation is restricted to Java, Bali, Lombok, and certain areas of Sumatra and Celebes. In Java much of the land of the northern coastal and central plains is planted with rice. In the drier section of eastern Java, crops such as corn (maize), cassava, sweet potatoes, peanuts (groundnuts), and soybeans dominate the small farms, although such cash crops as tobacco and coffee also are grown on plantations.
Development in Sumatra and in the outer islands is less intensive and consists primarily of estate-raised cash crops. Sumatra accounts for a major portion of the total area under estate production, and most plantations are located in the island’s northeastern coastal region. Around Medan there are extensive plantations producing tobacco, rubber, palm oil, kapok, tea, cloves, and coffee, none of which is native to the region. Rice, corn, and cassava are grown in the Padang area in the west and around the oil fields near Palembang in the southeast.
Since the late 20th century there has been a shift from rice toward less-demanding subsistence crops, such as cassava. Rice has remained the cornerstone of small-scale agriculture, however, and increased production of it has been an important aim of every economic development plan. The government intervenes in the marketing of rice to maintain production at an economically viable level. Various “mass guidance” (bimbingan massal) schemes to broaden the availability of credit and to promote the use of fertilizers and high-yielding varieties have increased rice output. Although the country is self-sufficient in rice production, there has been a persistent tendency since the late 1990s to import additional rice.
Private enterprises have joined the government in developing Indonesia’s palm oil and sugar industries, as well as its fisheries. Large-scale agribusiness is becoming a more important component of the country’s economy, with increasing government investment. Export of cultivated shrimp from sizable farms in western Java and southern Sumatra has been a boon to middle-sized businesses. Milkfish also are bred through aquaculture. Scad, tuna, and mackerel are the primary products of open-sea fishing.
Indonesia has some of the world’s largest tracts of exploitable tropical forest, especially in Kalimantan and Papua. There are several small areas of deciduous forest and plantations (mostly teak), but most of the trees are evergreen tropical hardwoods. The production of plywood and veneers has become important for both domestic consumption and export. Major timber operations are located primarily in Kalimantan, but logging also occurs on the other large islands; legitimate companies as well as illegal loggers target certain species, such as meranti (a subspecies of the genus Shorea), which yields an easily workable, relatively lightweight reddish wood. Teak is extracted mainly from Java.
Since the 1960s the timber industry has grown rapidly, but it has caused considerable damage through deforestation. Also a threat to the environment are frequent large-scale forest fires, most of which stem from “slash-and-burn” (swidden) subsistence agriculture or government clearing for plantations; these fires not only destroy vast areas of vegetation but also generate haze that frequently reaches as far as Singapore and peninsular Malaysia. Deforestation and air quality issues prompted environmentalists to urge the Indonesian government to curtail clear-cutting of trees, to control burning, and to implement reforestation programs.