Indonesia recorded a trade balance surplus of US$5.73 billion in October 2021, with exports valued at $22.03 billion and imports at $16.29 billion, according to the Statistics Indonesia (BPS).
“Indonesia’s trade balance has recorded a surplus in 18 consecutive months,” the bureau head, Margo Yuwono, noted during a virtual press conference on Monday.
Yuwono remarked that the commodities contributing the most to the surplus were fuels, vegetable and animal fats and oils, as well as iron and steel.
Meanwhile, the United States (US), China, and the Philippines were the largest contributors to the surplus.
Indonesia’s surplus with the US reached $1.7 billion from the trade of vegetable and animal fats and oils as well as clothing, knitwear, and their accessories.
It also experienced a $1.3-billion surplus from fuels as well as the trade of iron and steel with China.
Meanwhile, it clocked a surplus of $685.7 million with the Philippines from fuels as well as vehicles and their parts.
However, the BPS also noted that Indonesia had experienced a deficit with several countries.
The nation recorded a trade deficit of $595 million with Australia due to fuels as well as silver ore and ash.
Its trade with Thailand also recorded a deficit of $295.6 million with plastics and plastic goods as well as machinery, mechanical equipment, and their parts as the main commodities causal to the deficit.
In addition, Indonesia suffered from a $216.4-million deficit due to cereals as well as iron and steel trade with Ukraine.
Furthermore, Yuwono noted that during the January-October 2021 period, Indonesia’s trade balance surplus had reached $30.81 billion.
“Our data shows that the amount of our surplus always increases from 2016 to 2021. Moreover, in 2021, the amount is quite high. We hope that it would facilitate our national economic recovery,” he added.
According to the website of BPS, Indonesia’s trade balance surplus has always exceeded $1 billion since January 2021.
The smallest figure was recorded in June 2021 at $1.324 billion, while the highest was in October 2021 at $5.73 billion.
Source: Antara News