Indonesia Posts Billion Trade Surplus In November

Indonesia Posts Billion Trade Surplus In November by Andrew Blumer last updated on December 31, 2023

Indonesia Posts $2.41 Billion Trade Surplus In November

The latest data from the statistics bureau shows that Indonesia's trade surplus dropped to $2.41 billion only during November. The narrowing of the trade surplus occurred due to an uptick in imports and a decline in exports.

The bottom line is that Indonesia's economy has been facing a decline in exports in the last few months. The reason for this is a slowdown in global demand and lower commodity prices.

Indonesia Exports Down By 8.56%

In November, the drop in exports was recorded at 8.56%, which is around $22 billion. On the contrary, the forecast was for a drop of 9.36%.

Most of the shipments that Indonesia sends to other countries include palm oil and coal, both of which are down by 12.60% and 34.25%. In addition, the prices of commodities also declined in December, which also led to a decrease in exports in dollar terms.

As for the total volume of exports, palm oil was recorded at 2.5 million, while coal was recorded near 33.9 million metric tons.

As for imports, Indonesia recorded a +3.29% increase, which means the yearly imports are now $19.59 billion. When compared with the forecast, that was an increase of 0.20%.

A closer look at the imports shows an increase of 13.66% for capital goods and a 19.82% increase for consumer goods. In addition, the import of raw materials declined by 1.05%.

According to a senior official in Indonesia, the increase in the imports of consumer goods was mainly driven by food commodities.

In November, Indonesia's rice import was recorded at 433,000 metric tons. Similarly, an uptick in corn & sugar imports was also recorded by Indonesian officials.

The reason behind the increased imports of food products is the government's plan to keep inflation lower. Despite all of this, the annual inflation in Indonesia rose to around 2.86%, which was mainly driven by food prices.

However, one senior economist believes that the trade balance for November is still within the forecast limits set by government officials.