Indonesia Trade Balance Surplus 3.8 Billion US Dollars, 22 Months Record Continues

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Finance)

JAKARTA - The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that Indonesia managed to score a trade balance surplus of USD 3.83 billion in February 2022.

This figure was formed from the larger export value with 20.46 billion US dollars compared to imports which amounted to 16.63 billion US dollars.

Head of BPS Margo Yuwono said the trade surplus at the beginning of this year continued the surplus trend that had been going on for almost two years.

"This has happened for 22 months in a row, Indonesia has experienced a trade surplus," he said during a virtual press conference on Tuesday, March 15.

According to Margo, this situation is clearly in Indonesia's favour, considering that higher exports have an effect on strengthening domestic economic activities. On the other hand, low imports, especially consumer goods, can play a role in keeping the country's foreign exchange reserves high.

"We all hope that this surplus trend will continue to be maintained in the following periods so that Indonesia's economic recovery can take place more quickly," he said.

Furthermore, the cumulative value of Indonesia's exports from January to February 2022 reached US$39.64 billion, an increase of 29.75 percent compared to the same period in 2021. Likewise, non-oil and gas exports reached US$37.74 billion or grew 31.02 percent.

While imports, the biggest decline in February 2022 compared to January 2022 was iron and steel at 368.3 million (27.13%). Meanwhile, the biggest increase was sugar and confectionery 117.8 million (41.21 percent).

Meanwhile, the three largest suppliers of imported non-oil and gas goods during January–February 2022 were China 10.48 billion US dollars (35.27 percent), Japan 2.54 billion US dollars (8.55 percent), and Thailand 1.97 billion dollars. USA (6.62 percent).