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Sri Mulyani flags downtrend in RI trade surplus
A surprisingly large trade surplus of US$ 4.47 billion in March has done little to allay concerns about what is seen as a longer-term narrowing of the gap between Indonesian exports and imports.
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Workers transport palm oil fruit on a boat on Aug. 13, 2022, from plantations along the Kampar River to processing plants in Kampar, Riau. (AFP/Wahyudi)
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inance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has raised concerns about a declining trend in Indonesia’s trade surplus, Bisnis reported.
In March, the country’s trade balance showed a surprisingly strong surplus of US$4.47 billion, up from just $0.87 billion in the preceding month, but the longer-term trend points to a shrinking gap between Indonesian exports and imports.
At $7.31 billion, the cumulative trade surplus for this year’s first quarter marks a significant decline from the $12.11 billion logged in the equivalent three-month period of last year.
Sri Mulyani noted that March’s higher surplus was explained by the fact that imports had contracted at a faster rate than exports over the past year.
The latest trade data shows that the value of goods entering the country plummeted 12.8 percent year-on-year (yoy) last month, while exports were down 4.2 percent yoy.
The minister warned that export growth remained negative. Indonesian exports peaked in August 2022 as a global commodity price boom supported shipments of Indonesian minerals and derivative products to global markets.
Read also: Trade surplus shrinks in November as imports rise
