Jakarta, The Indonesia Post – The Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan said that the value of Indonesia’s trade balance in 2022 scored the highest record with a surplus of 54.46 billion US dollars.
“I am grateful, the 2022 trade balance surplus of US$54.46 billion is the biggest record so far. This trade balance was driven by the 2022 export performance which also set a new record with a value of US$291.98 billion,” Zulkifli said through his official broadcast on Jakarta, Tuesday.
Zulkifli said that at the end of 2022, Indonesia’s trade balance again recorded a surplus in December 2022 of US$3.89 billion.
The surplus consisted of non-oil and gas trade of 5.61 billion US dollars and an oil and gas trade deficit of 1.73 billion US dollars. This surplus continues the trend of the 32nd consecutive monthly surplus since May 2020.
The trade surplus was contributed by several of Indonesia’s main trading partner countries. The United States was the largest contributor to the surplus with a value of US$1.11 billion, followed by India with US$0.98 billion, and the Philippines with US$0.87 billion.
In December 2022, Indonesia’s export value reached US$23.83 billion. This value fell 1.10 percent compared to November 2022 (MoM), but still increased 6.58 percent compared to December 2021 (YoY).
The decline was due to the weakening of non-oil and gas exports by 2.73% MoM. Meanwhile, oil and gas exports continued to increase by 32.46% MoM.
The decline in the value of non-oil and gas exports in December 2022 occurred due to a weakening in all sectors. During this period, exports of the agricultural sector fell by 12.09 percent, exports of the manufacturing sector fell by 1.12 percent, and exports of the mining sector experienced a decline of 6.61 percent MoM.
The weakening of exports in December 2022 was triggered by a decline in exports of several products, including coffee, tea and spices (HS 09) down 22.11 percent, inorganic chemicals (HS 28) down 20.90 percent, precious metals, jewelry/gems ( HS 71) fell 11.61 percent, clothing and accessories (knitting) (HS 61) fell 10.67 percent, and animal/vegetable fats and oils (HS 15) fell 9.47 percent MoM.
In the midst of this weakening in exports, there were several main non-oil and gas export products that still experienced a significant increase. These products include tin and goods thereof (HS 80) which rose 61.35 percent, nickel and goods thereof (HS 75) which rose 41.50 percent, and man-made staple fiber (HS 55) which rose 24.45 percent MoM.
The increase in tin and nickel exports was triggered by an increase in tin and nickel prices in December 2022 by 13.76 percent and 13.24 percent MoM, respectively.
Zulkifli said China, Japan and the United States were the main markets for Indonesia’s non-oil and gas exports. In December 2022, the partner country’s non-oil and gas export value was recorded at US$9.92 billion and contributed 44.39 percent to the national non-oil and gas exports.
As for several other non-oil and gas export destinations that are still experiencing an increase in exports in December 2022, they include Spain which rose 91.84 percent, Pakistan rose 58.36 percent, England rose 48.34 percent, Vietnam rose 21.63 percent, and Singapore increased 16.66 percent.
“In terms of the region, the largest strengthening of non-oil and gas exports occurred to West Asia which rose 207.93 percent, Northern Europe (34.12 percent MoM) and Southern Europe (15.08 percent MoM),” said Zulkifli.
Cumulatively, total exports during the 2022 period were recorded at US$291.98 billion, an increase of 26.07 percent compared to the same period the previous year (YoY).
The increase in exports was supported by strengthening exports from the non-oil and gas sector which rose 25.80 percent (YoY) to US$275.96 billion and exports from the oil and gas sector which rose 30.82 percent (YoY) to US$16.02 billion. (mhn/bbs)
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