The Minister Of Trade Is Optimistic That The National Economy Is Increasingly Positive

ILLUSTRATION/Visitors shopping at Tanah Abang Market, Jakarta/ANTARA PHOTO/Indrianto Eko Suwarso/wsj.

JAKARTA - Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan is optimistic that the national economy will be more positive, which is marked by the surplus of Indonesia's trade balance that occurred again in July 2022 with a value of 4.23 billion US dollars.

“The trade surplus in July 2022 of 4.23 billion US dollars was contributed by the non-oil and gas trade surplus of 7.31 billion US dollars, while the oil and gas trade balance was in deficit of 3.08 billion US dollars. The trade surplus in July 2022 continues the surplus trend experienced since May 2020 or to be precise for the last 26 months," said the Trade Minister as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, August 17.

Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan also said that the cumulative trade balance surplus during the January–July 2022 period reached 29.17 billion US dollars. This surplus was supported by a surplus in the non-oil and gas sector of USD 43.93 billion, while the deficit in the oil and gas sector amounted to USD 14.76 billion.

The trading partner countries that contributed to the largest surplus in the non-oil and gas sector in July 2022 were India with a trade surplus for Indonesia of 1.44 billion US dollars.

Followed by the United States, the Philippines, Japan and Taiwan which contributed to the overall trade balance surplus of US$ 3.84 billion.

Meanwhile, the countries that contributed to the largest trade deficit were the People's Republic of China (PRC), Singapore, and Australia with a total of US$2.14 billion.

Responding to the current development of global conditions, Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan emphasized that there are things that Indonesia needs to be aware of.

"Although the trade balance performance has returned to positive, we need to be aware of the tensions between China and Taiwan, considering that the two countries are Indonesia's main trading partners for industrial purposes," explained Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan.