The Republic Of Indonesia Prints 4.5 Billion Dollar Trade Surplus, New Record For 23 Months In A Row

JAKARTA – The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that Indonesia again posted a trade balance surplus of USD 4.53 billion in March 2022.

Head of BPS Margo Yuwono said the book was due to the higher export value of US$26.50 billion compared to imports of USD 21.97 billion.

"This is a trade balance surplus in a row in the last 23 months," he said when giving a statement to the media crew through virtual channels on Monday, April 18.

As for the year to date (ytd) or January to March 2022, Indonesia recorded a surplus of 9.33 billion US dollars. This score is much higher when compared to the same period the previous year which amounted to USD 5.52 billion.

Furthermore, Margo explained that exports are supported by several important sectors, including oil and gas commodities with USD 1.4 billion. Followed by agricultural commodities with 425.6 million US dollars, processing industries with 19.2 billion US dollars, and copper and other goods with 5.4 billion US dollars.

"Based on the country, we have the most surplus from America, India, and the Philippines," he said.

Meanwhile, imports surged mostly from machinery and electronic equipment and parts thereof (HS 85) worth 520 million US dollars. It was followed by machinery and mechanical equipment (HS 84) with 429.9 million US dollars and iron and steel (HS 72) with 393.9 million US dollars.

"According to country of origin, most imports are from China, South Korea, and Japan,"

Then, the biggest decline in imports occurred in metal tooling commodities (HS 82) with minus 4.7 million US dollars, wood, and wood products (HS 44) with minus 1.8 million US dollars, and vegetable textile fibers (HS 53) minus 1.6 million US dollars.

"Based on the country, the imports that fell the most came from South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam," concluded Margo.