Indonesia March exports, imports hit record highs amid commodity boom
By
Gayatri Suroyo
and
Stefanno Sulaiman
April 18, 20221:36 AM PDT
Last Updated 23 min ago
A worker drives a reach taker vehicle past stacks of containers at the IPC Containter Terminal of Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia, November 4, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
- March exports at $26.5 bln, up 44.4% y/y
- Imports at $22 bln, up 31% y/y
- Trade surplus at $4.53 bln, vs $2.89 bln seen in poll
JAKARTA (April 18): Indonesia's exports and imports hit record highs in March amid rising commodity prices due to the impact of the Ukraine war, helping the resource-rich country book a wider-than-expected trade surplus, statistics bureau data showed on Monday (April 18).
March exports from Indonesia were worth US$26.5 billion (about RM112.8 billion), up 44.36% on a yearly basis and beating a 23.83% prediction in a
Reuters poll. Imports were up 30.85% to US$21.97 billion, more than the 18.3% rise seen in the poll.
Southeast Asia's largest economy booked a US$4.53 billion surplus last month, the largest since October and far greater than the poll's forecast of a US$2.89 billion surplus.
Prices of Indonesia's top export products, such as coal, natural gas, palm oil, tin and nickel — which were already high due to recovering demand — surged further in global markets in March following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb 24. Moscow calls its action a "special operation" to destroy its neighbour's military capabilities.
"Indonesia is on the right side of the ongoing commodity rally," said DBS senior economist Radhika Rao, adding that its trade surplus and an improved external position had kept the rupiah relatively stable compared to regional currencies.
Wisnu Wardana, an economist with Bank Danamon in Jakarta, revised his projection of the 2022 current account deficit to 0.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) from 1.9% of GDP due to the surplus.
He said that would help cushion the impact of US monetary tightening measures on Indonesian financial markets.
Coal, nickel shipments jump
Among the most dramatic increases were Indonesia's coal exports, which rose nearly 150% on a yearly basis to US$3.9 billion. By volume, coal shipments were up about 22% annually to 35.3 million tonnes.
On a monthly basis, exports of coal jumped 41%, bought mostly by China, India and the Philippines, although shipments to European countries such as the Netherlands, Italy and Germany also rose, statistics bureau head Margo Yuwono said.
The European Union earlier this month imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia that included banning Russian coal imports from mid-August.
Nickel shipments also registered an annual increase of more than 600% by value to US$569.7 million and an 882% rise in volume to 66,900 tonnes.
However, Indonesia's palm oil sales slid 1.25% on a yearly basis, despite the price jump, to US$2.4 billion, with a 31% drop in volume to 1.7 million tonnes.
The bureau did not explain the drop. Indonesian authorities restricted exports of the edible oil between late January and mid-March to try to control domestic cooking oil prices.
High commodity prices also affected imports, with Indonesia a net oil importer and a major buyer of wheat and soybean.
The statistics bureau also recorded an increase in imports of meat, fruits and pharmaceutical products, some of which it said may be due to rising demand ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began in early April.
Indonesia's exports and imports hit record highs in March amid commodity price rises due to the impacts of the Ukraine war, helping the resource-rich country book a larger-than-expected trade surplus, statistics bureau data showed on Monday.
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