Indonesia’s import and export performance broke an all-time record in August due to the unprecedented volume of commodities sold, casting a positive outlook on the economy as the nation battles to subdue the effects of subsidized fuel price hikes.
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported on Thursday that August’s exports rose 30.15 percent year-on-year (YoY) to US$27.91 billion, topping the previous record of $27.32 billion in April. Crude palm oil (CPO), metals and electrical machinery mainly supported the export growth. Imports, meanwhile, were up 32.81 percent YoY to $22.15 billion, supported by mechanical and electrical machinery, signifying a robust manufacturing industry as the domestic purchasing managers’ index (PMI) hit 51.7 points in the same month.
“The export performance of key commodities is still in good condition due to an increase in the volume sold, even as commodity prices fall,” BPS deputy head of distribution statistics and services Setianto said in a press briefing.
Consequently, Indonesia’s trade surplus in August managed to reach $5.76 billion, jumping 21 percent from the previous month’s $4.22 billion, while also marking 28 consecutive months of surplus. Economists had their estimates beaten, with state-owned Bank Mandiri and financial research firm Moody’s Analytics predicting a $3.69 billion and $4.4 billion surplus, respectively.
BPS data also showed that the monthly export performance in August was boosted by CPO sales, which increased by 25.40 percent, followed by metals and electrical machinery by 14.38 percent and 21.16 percent, respectively. Although global commodity prices have been lower than the all-time high prices of the previous month, Setianto added, the export volume of some key commodities skyrocketed drastically in August.
The volume of CPO exports jumped 55.77 percent month-to-month (mtm) to 3.6 million tons, the highest increase this year, although CPO prices fell by 10.15 percent yoy to $1,026 per ton. Nominal-wise, CPO exports reached $3.7 billion in August, with demands mostly coming from India, China and Egypt.
September 15, 2022, The Jakarta Post
(https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2022/09/15/ri-foreign-trade-shows-no-sign-of-slowing-down.html?)