BI Said About The Continuing Trade Balance Surplus: Positive Contribution To The Economy

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA Bank Indonesia (BI) has opened its voice on the report of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) which stated that Indonesia's trade balance in September 2022 again recorded a surplus of 4.99 billion US dollars.

BI Communication Department Junanto Herdiawan said the amount was lower than the surplus in the previous month of 5.71 billion US dollars.

"Bank Indonesia views that the trade balance surplus has contributed positively to maintaining the external resilience of the Indonesian economy," he said in a written statement quoted on Tuesday, October 18.

According to Junanto, this positive performance has continued Indonesia's trade balance surplus since May 2020. It was stated that Indonesia's trade balance in January-September 2022 overall recorded a surplus of 39.87 billion US dollars or much higher than the achievement in the same period 2021 of 25.10 billion US dollars.

"In the future, Bank Indonesia will continue to strengthen policy synergies with the government and related policy authorities to increase external resilience and support national economic recovery," he said.

Junanto explained that the September 2022 trade balance surplus came from a non-oil and gas trade balance surplus amid the slightly increasing oil and gas trade balance deficit.

In September 2022, the non-oil and gas trade balance surplus was recorded at 7.09 billion US dollars, lower than the surplus in the previous month of 7.73 billion US dollars.

The development was due to the performance of non-oil and gas exports of US$23.48 billion in September 2022, lower than the US$26.18 billion in the previous month.

"The strong export performance of non-oil and gas mainly comes from exports of natural resources-based commodities, such as mineral fuels including coal, and CPO which are supported by strengthening government policies, including the extension of CPO export levy exemptions and global commodity prices that are still high," he said.

Junanto added that exports of manufactured products, such as vehicles and their parts, were recorded to have increased.

"Reviewed from destination countries, non-oil and gas exports to China, the United States, and India are still strong and are the main contributors to Indonesia's total exports," he added.

Meanwhile, non-oil and gas imports remain strong in all components in line with the continuing improvement of the domestic economy.

Meanwhile, the oil and gas trade balance deficit recorded slightly an increase from US$2.01 billion in August 2022 to US$2.1 billion in September 2022, as oil and gas exports decreased higher than oil and gas imports.