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COVID-19 pandemic looms over Indonesia’s record-high trade surplus
Indonesian imports from China, its largest trading partner, fell $1.08 billion in February compared to the same period last year.
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Vehicles travel down Jl. Pak Kasih at the Pelindo II-operated Dwikora River Port on the Kapuas River in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. Indonesia recorded a US$2.34 billion trade surplus in February despite disrupted trade activities in China amid the spread of the coronavirus disease, Statistics Indonesia announced on Monday. (The Jakarta Post/Severianus Endi)
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he spread of COVID-19 is expected to hit Indonesia’s trade surplus, which booked a nine-year high figure in February, as a shortage of raw materials for industry looms over the country, economists and businesspeople have said.
Indonesia recorded a US$2.34 billion trade surplus in February despite disrupted trade activities in China amid the spread of the coronavirus disease, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) announced on Monday. The figure is the first surplus in four months and the highest since September 2011.
The country recorded a total of $13.94 billion in exports in February, an 11 percent increase year-on-year (yoy), supported by increasing shipments of palm oil, gold, vehicles and textile products. Meanwhile, total imports declined 5.11 percent yoy to $11.60 billion as a result of fewer purchases of all consumer goods, raw materials and capital goods.
“The data shows that supply disruption in China has affected the flow of imports into Indonesia,” Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) deputy chairwoman Shinta W. Kamdani told The Jakarta Post on Monday. “This situation, however, has yet to significantly affect the performance of exports.”
Read also: Battered by virus: Businesses across Indonesia feel the pinch
“We project the export performance to drop significantly in March, particularly in the manufacturing industry, due to a decrease of production materials,” Shinta said, adding that the materials would be “very limited” by April if no additional raw material supplies were shipped.
“We are entering a high-consumption phase in April due to Ramadan. If we do not stock up on supplies starting now, not only it will it slow down production but it will also shock the market,” she warned.
