Shipping containers are moved and counted at Tanjung Priok port in North Jakarta, Indonesia (Photo:jakartaglobe.id)Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesia has maintained atrade surplus for 41 consecutive months, even in the face of a declining trendin export performance in September 2023.
The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reports that Indonesia'sexport value in September amounted to 20.76 billion USD, a 5.63% decreasecompared to August. Meanwhile, imports dropped by 8.15 % to 17.34billion USD. As a result, Indonesia's trade balance recorded a surplus of 3.42billion USD, an improvement compared to August's surplus of 3.12 billion USD.
Acting BPS Head Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti told a pressconference on October 16 that the surplus is primarily supported by thenon-oil and gas sector, amounting to 5.34 billion USD, but it was offset by adeficit in the oil and gas sector amounting to 1.92 billion USD.
The threelargest contributors to Indonesia's surplus in September were the US,China, and the Philippines. Meanwhile, the three countries with the deepestdeficits were Australia, Thailand, and Brazil.
Cumulatively, Indonesia's trade balance surplus this year to September reached 27.75 billion USD. This figure is lower than the same period inthe previous year, which stood at 39.85 billion USD.
Amalia also noted several factors affecting Indonesia's exportperformance in September, including the impact of El Niño, which istypically felt during the dry season, particularly in July, August, September,and October. Additionally, prices of key commodities in the global market arerelatively lower compared to the previous year./.
