PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2017

EDITOUR PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 04/17 www.petpla.net 10 Tour Sponsors: Go with the flow South East Asia: Indonesia The underestimated islands by Alexander Büchler Indonesia is a superlative country, often underestimated; it is the fourth most populated country on the planet and, with a population of 30 million in Greater Jakarta, this is also the second largest metropolitan area in the world behind Tokyo. Indonesia also boasts the world’s largest Muslim population; on a commercial level, it has the biggest water brand in the world – by volume – and finally, and what the country is quite possibly best known for – it has 17,000 islands and heavenly beaches. Unfortunately, I was unable to enjoy these beaches in mid-February, as my tour around Jakarta, Bogor and Tangerang was limited to the island of Java. As mentioned above, this is the second largest metropolitan area in the world and it is the hub of Indone- sian industry. Indonesia’s economy seems to be strong and robust, growing at a rate of more than 6% each year, in spite of upheavals in the global economy. As a result, it is the third fastest grow- ing economy in the world after China and India. Inflation is around 5%. One reason why the economy continues to grow steadily may be due to its rela- tively minor involvement in the global economy compared to domestic demand which has firmly established itself. High levels of political stability are an advantage for the economic cli- mate and economic indicators appear to be largely positive. The GDP is cur- rently $11,700/person. President Joko Widodo Elected in 2014, the new president Joko Widodo has further improved the general conditions for economic growth. He abolished government subsidies for fuel and electricity, instead using these funds to expand and develop infrastructure. This strategy initially had negative impacts for the drinks sector, as increased energy costs dampened the domes- tic demand at first. Nonetheless, the drinks market has grown, particularly propelled by the high levels of water consumption. Despite all these positive reports, the country suffers from the problems typically encountered by an emerging nation, such as poverty and unem- ployment, inadequate infrastructure, corruption, a complex regulatory environment, and unequal resource distribution among its regions. Transport is particularly expensive due to overcrowded streets in the met- ropolitan areas and, on a larger scale, due to the segmented structure of the islands. And so drinks companies have spread their factory locations across Indonesia in order to be able to reach their consumers using the shortest routes possible. Suppliers for products Fig. 1 Population of Indonesia [mio] Key facts Indonesia:   260 million inhabitants   1,811,569km 2 land   17,000 islands   $ 11,700 per person GDP   5% inflation   6% economy growing a year 195 65