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# Indonesia Trade Expo reports US$22.94bn in potential deals; exporters face conversion test
- URL: https://www.southeastasiaconnect.com/indonesia-trade-expo-2026-potential-deals-contracts/
- Published: 2026-10-19T04:05:12.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-19T04:05:12.000Z
- Description: The expo drew 9,600 registered buyers and produced 426 MoUs, but Indonesia’s trade ministry says follow-up is needed to turn agreements into contracts.
- Author: Southeast Asia Editorial Team
- Tags: News, Indonesia, Trade, #sea-section-news

Indonesia’s Trade Expo closed on 18 October with a reported US$22.94 billion in *potential* transactions. That is a large pipeline for exporters to pursue, but it is not a tally of completed export sales: the trade ministry says post-expo follow-up is needed to turn agreements into contracts.

The preliminary figure was 31.1% above the expo’s US$17.5 billion target, according to the ministry. It includes 426 memoranda of understanding, which record intentions or preliminary agreements rather than proving that every transaction has been finalised. For Indonesian suppliers and regional procurement teams, the next test is how much of that interest becomes orders with settled terms.

## Where the interest came from

The five-day Trade Expo Indonesia brought together 1,873 exhibitors and 9,600 registered buyers from 151 countries, the ministry said. By buyer count, the leading participating markets were India, Malaysia, China, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan. Malaysia’s position is a participation measure; the ministry did not rank these countries by transaction value.

Food and beverages, jewellery, wood products, agricultural products and paper were the product categories with the highest reported potential transaction values. That mix gives exporters a more useful lead than the headline total alone: it identifies the sectors where the ministry saw the largest preliminary opportunities, while leaving the value of firm contracts open.

## The conversion test

The ministry itself made follow-up a priority after the event, saying agreements should be pursued so they can develop into trade contracts and contribute to export performance. The reported US$22.94 billion should therefore be treated as an opportunity measure when assessing Indonesia’s export pipeline, not booked revenue or a forecast that all leads will close.

The closing announcement gives no conversion rate or timetable for turning the expo pipeline into contracts. Subsequent figures for signed contracts or shipments would show whether the preliminary opportunities translated into export business.

**Source:** [Indonesia Ministry of Trade, 18 October 2026 closing announcement](https://www.kemendag.go.id/berita/siaran-pers/mendag-busan-resmi-tutup-tei-ke-41-potensi-transaksi-capai-usd-2294-miliar?ref=southeastasiaconnect.com).