Omicron Has No Significant Impact On Exports And Imports, Indonesia Records A Trade Balance Surplus Of 930 Million US Dollars

JAKARTA - The government through the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) said that Indonesia's export performance in January 2022 continued to grow strongly.

Head of the Fiscal Policy Agency (BKF) of the Ministry of Finance, Febrio Kacaribu, said that Indonesia's exports in the first month of this year were 25.31 percent year on year (yoy) or US$19.16 billion amid increasing risks and moderating global economic growth and trade. .

"Exports that continue to grow strongly show that the outbreak of the Omicron variant does not have a significant impact on production and export activities," he said in a press statement quoted on Wednesday, February 16.

According to Ferbrio, cumulatively the export value of January 2022 started with a higher value than the pre-pandemic (January 2020) which was driven by an increase in the prices of key commodities.

"Going forward, export performance is expected to remain strong, supported by high demand and prices," he said.

In his explanation, non-oil and gas exports grew by 26.74 percent yoy, while oil and gas exports grew more moderately at 1.96 percent yoy.

By sector, exports that recorded growth were the manufacturing, agriculture, and mining sectors. Meanwhile, Indonesia's export market share is still dominated by China, the US and ASEAN.

On the import side, it grew by 36.77 percent or 18.23 billion US dollars with oil and gas imports increasing by 43.66 percent, followed by non-oil and gas imports which grew by 35.86 percent.

In terms of type of use, imports of capital goods experienced the highest growth of 41.94 percent, followed by imports of raw/auxiliary materials which grew by 39.57 percent and imports of consumer goods which grew at 10.25 percent.

“The increase in imports of raw materials and capital goods reflects the continued increase in domestic industrial activity both to meet the domestic and export markets. Meanwhile, the increase in imports of consumer goods reflects the recovery in domestic consumption activity and people's purchasing power," said Febrio.

Overall, the performance of exports and imports in January 2022 posted a trade balance surplus of US$930 million, marking the 21st consecutive month of surplus trend.

Compared to December 2021 which recorded a surplus of 1.01 billion US dollars, the trade balance surplus in January 2022 was slightly lower due to seasonal factors.

"Going forward, the government will continue to anticipate various risks to the global economy that have the potential to affect the performance of Indonesia's trade balance," closed Febrio.