The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Strong crude palm oil (CPO) and rubber production amid high demand and prices for the two commodities on the global market helped push Indonesia's January exports up by 22 percent from the same period the year before, the latest figures from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reveal.
Indonesia's total exports were worth US$7.51 billion for the first month of 2006, against last year's $6.13 billion.
Non-oil and gas exports, which account for more than three quarters of the country's total exports, rose 16 percent to $5.69 billion, with the main markets being Japan, the U.S. and Singapore.
Exports of animal fats and vegetable oil products, which include CPO and its derivatives, enjoyed the biggest increase, booking a combined value of $365.7 million as compared to $252.8 million last year.
Indonesia is the world's second largest CPO exporter after neighboring Malaysia.
Following CPO, exports of bituminous fuels, particularly coal, contributed $462.6 million as compared to $240.6 million last year.
Meanwhile, exports of rubber and rubber products increased to $330.3 million from $256.8 million last year.
Besides the increases in non-oil and gas exports, the value of Indonesia's oil and gas exports rose by 48 percent to $1.82 billion from $1.22 billion previously on the back of high international prices.
There was a decline, however, in exports of paper, timber and processed timber products, which fell by 23 percent to a combined value of $381.7 million.
The BPS also reported that Indonesia imported a total of $4.27 billion worth of goods in January, with the main component consisting of machinery from Japan and China.
Overall, the country had a trade surplus of $3.24 billion in the first month of 2006.
Indonesia's exports hit a record high last year at $85.6 billion, up almost 20 percent from 2004. This was mainly attributable to strong sales of non-oil and gas commodities, particularly metal ores and bituminous fuels.
Indonesia urgently needs to increase exports, not only to boost its foreign exchange reserves, but also to spur economic activity and growth, which last year slowed amid high inflation and interest rates.
Net exports currently account for less than 10 percent of the nation's gross domestic product.
