JAKARTA: Malaysia-Indonesia trade is projected to grow by 10% this year to US$29.3 billion (RM119.2 billion), supported by expanding cooperation in the halal sector and stronger market access between the two countries.
Malaysia’s Chargé d’Affaires in Indonesia Farzamie Sarkawi said the projected growth reflects stronger bilateral halal cooperation, which has expanded collaboration in trade, investment and human capital development over the past three years.
He said the cooperation established under a bilateral memorandum of cooperation (MoC) on halal signed in 2023 has created greater opportunities for both countries to deepen collaboration across various sectors.
“This includes cooperation in trade, investment and human capital through the exchange of expertise, training and other initiatives,” he told Bernama.
Since its implementation, Farzamie said the bilateral cooperation has made positive progress, with the mutual recognition of halal certification between Malaysia and Indonesia facilitating the movement of products and improving market access for businesses in both countries.
With total trade reaching US$26.61 billion in 2025, up 5.3% from the previous year, he said the strong bilateral trade performance reflects positive progress in cooperation and provides a solid foundation for further growth this year.
Throughout last year, he said trade in halal-related food and beverage products remained robust, with Malaysia’s processed food exports to Indonesia rising 18.5% year-on-year to US$640 million, driven by cocoa powder, non-dairy creamer, filled milk, chocolate products and flavouring preparations.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s imports of processed food from Indonesia increased 10.8% in 2025 to US$840 million, led by coconut milk, cocoa paste, instant noodles and rice vermicelli, he said.
Farzamie said Indonesia also remained a major supplier of halal-related raw materials and ingredients to Malaysia, with imports of palm oil-based manufactured products reaching US$2.34 billion and palm oil and palm oil-based agricultural products amounting to US$1.14 billion, supporting Malaysia’s halal food processing, ingredients, cosmetics and personal care industries.
With member countries of the Developing Eight (D-8) Organisation for Economic Cooperation gathering at this year’s D-8 Halal Expo Indonesia, Farzamie said Malaysia hopes to build on the momentum of its bilateral halal cooperation with Indonesia by expanding partnerships across the wider bloc.
He said Malaysia’s participation in the five-day D-8 Halal Expo Indonesia, which concluded today, was led by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation and Tourism Malaysia, and aimed at connecting the country’s halal capabilities to opportunities across the D-8 market.
“The expo provides a platform to strengthen partnerships in halal trade, investment, business networking and the development of regional halal value chains among D-8 member countries,” he said.
He noted that intra-D-8 trade currently stands at about US$150 billion
to US$160 billion annually, with the bloc targeting to raise the figure to US$500 billion by 2030 through deeper economic cooperation, including stronger halal industry integration.
