South Sumatra Trade until September 2023 Surplus of 3.80 Billion US Dollars

PALEMBANG - The trade balance in South Sumatra Province (Sumsel) as of the third quarter or September 2023 recorded a surplus of 3.80 billion US dollars.

Head of the Palembang Financial Training Center (BDK), Denny Handoyo Supriatman in Palembang, Monday, said that the trade balance figure was contributed by the export value until September 2023 amounting to 4.9 billion US dollars and imports worth 1.1 billion US dollars.

He explained that South Sumatra's exports were still dominated by coal, pulp and rubber with foreign exchange from coal exports recorded at USD 2.1 billion.

Meanwhile, in terms of imports, South Sumatra is still supported by engines and generators and recorded machine import foreign exchange worth 300 million US dollars.

According to him, the surplus condition is also in line with South Sumatra's economic condition which is still well maintained.

This is indicated by several indicators, including consumption, production and investment activities which are still on a positive trend.

"If you look at consumption indicators, you can see that South Sumatra's Consumer Confidence Index (IKK) is at a level of 143.9 percent. And then also from the consumer credit side, which up to the third quarter has continued to creep up to IDR 43.10 trillion," he said. Denny was quoted from ANTARA, Tuesday, October 31.

As seen from the production and investment indicators which have three sub-assessments, namely imports of raw and auxiliary materials, working capital and investment credits, as well as imports of capital goods which continue to show positive graphs and even increase.

However, there are things that should be a warning for South Sumatra regarding the condition of superior commodities which also have an impact on the trade balance.

One of them is the downward trend in exports amidst the gradual return to normal of the prices of leading commodities.

"After having recorded a golden era in the previous year or to be precise during the pandemic, now it has gradually returned to normal and the trend is decreasing. This condition has started to have an impact by looking at export conditions in South Sumatra on an annual basis which experienced a contraction of 40.92 percent," said Denny.