Jakarta. Indonesia is expected to ink a preferential trade agreement with Tunisia early next year -- a deal that will give Jakarta’s palm oil better access to the Northern African market.

A preferential trade agreement, also known as a PTA, only covers import tax reduction commitments for certain tariff lines. Jakarta has been negotiating the accord with the Tunisian government since 2018. Trade Minister Budi Santoso revealed Tuesday that both countries had already finalized the document.

“We are planning to sign the Indonesia-Tunisia PTA in January. The [negotiations] are pretty much done, it’s just a matter of time,” Budi told the press in Jakarta.

According to Trade Ministry data, Tunisia has agreed to give preferential treatment for Indonesian palm oil, bananas, and frozen fish. Tunis will roll out the red carpet for cocoa and threads. Budi did not go into details on how low the Maghreb nation was willing to drop the tariff rate on Indonesian palm oil. In return, Southeast Asia’s biggest economy will either reduce or eliminate tariffs on a wide range of Tunisian goods, ranging from crustaceans to dates.

Like any other agreement, the accord will still be subject to ratification before the lower tariff rates can actually take effect. When asked by the Jakarta Globe whether the leaders would be signing the accord, Budi said that it would depend on President Prabowo Subianto’s schedule. The same goes for his Tunisian counterpart Kais Saied. 

“When it comes to such agreements, it’s usually the trade ministers who sign the document.  … We will see if we can arrange a bilateral meeting between the presidents. However, we don’t know yet,” Budi said.

Indonesia reported that its business activities with Tunisia had more than doubled. Trade totaled $119.9 million between January and September 2024, but skyrocketed to $308.6 million in the same nine-month period this year following import hikes. Indonesia imported at least $239.6 million of Tunisian goods as of September, up 468 percent year-on-year. Government data also showed that Indonesia shipped $54.8 million in goods categorized as animal fat or vegetable oil products to Tunisia as of September. Palm oil falls within this category.

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