ASEAN Economics and Coconut Production
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is one of the most important and dynamic socioeconomic blocs in the world, particularly the Asia Pacific region. The ten member nations of ASEAN are the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia. Together, the nations of ASEAN have a total population of more than 640 million citizens, which is larger than the total population of the European Union. Similarly, if ASEAN were a single country it would be one of the seven largest economies in the world. In terms of purchasing power parity, the aggregate gross domestic product (GDP) of ASEAN is of approximately US$7.5 trillion, compared to the GDP of the United States at US$18.6 trillion or that of India at US$8.7 trillion. As part of its regional integration project, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) was created in 2015, which marked a major step towards the unification of trade policies and consumer goods regulation as well as the freedom of movement for capital and skilled labor. Currently, ASEAN leads an even larger regional integration effort in the form of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). RCEP seeks to integrate the economies of ASEAN with those of six major partners in the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. Seeking to unify the six nations with whom ASEAN has free trade agreements (FTAs) into a single market, the RCEP would also include China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and India. However, RCEP is still under negotiation and will not become a reality until several years from today.
Being negotiated since 2011, if the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership becomes a reality it will be the world’s largest unified economic market and an agricultural powerhouse. For example, in the case of green coconuts, RCEP would incorporate four of the top six producers in the world. Currently, Indonesia is the world’s top producer of coconuts with approximately 18.3 million metric tons yearly, followed by the Philippines with almost 15.5 million metric tons of output and India, which yields some 12 million metric tons of coconuts annually. This article explores the characteristics of ASEAN’s largest country, Indonesia.
ASEAN Economics and Coconut Production
The Republic of Indonesia is a large archipelago nation in between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. With a total territory of more than 1.9 million square kilometers, Indonesia is almost three times the size of Texas. Geographically, humid coastal lowlands and mountainous formations in the interior of its larger islands dominate the country. Indonesia has a total population of almost 260 million citizens, making it the fourth most populous nation in the world after China, India, and the United States. Furthermore, more than 50% of the Indonesian population lives in an urban setting, notably the capital city of Jakarta, which has over 10 million inhabitants. Currently, Indonesia’s annual GDP is of almost US$3 trillion, making it one of the twenty largest economies in the world (G20). Furthermore, its national economy has experienced positive growth upwards of 4.0% in recent years.