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China slowdown? Indonesian exporters are not feeling it, yet
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This aerial photo taken on Feb. 13, 2023, shows shipping containers at Haikou Port in China's southern Hainan province. (AFP/STR)
D
espite China’s economy growing at a slower pace than expected this year, the country’s demand for Indonesian goods remains solid, though experts believe it is too soon to say whether that will last.
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) official Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti revealed that Indonesia’s non-oil and gas (NOG) exports to China amounted to US$5.38 billion in August, up 9.36 percent from July.
“Our exports to China remain solid. Granted, there is a potential Chinese economic slowdown, but in terms of demand, it’s still growing positively,” Amalia told reporters in Jakarta on Friday during the presentation of Indonesia’s latest trade data.
Meanwhile, Indonesia imported $5.19 billion worth of goods from China, 6.52 percent down from July.
Indonesia exported $22 billion worth of goods worldwide in August, while incoming shipments amounted to $18.88 billion. Both of those figures mark double-digit declines on the year, with exports plunging 21.21 percent since August 2022 and imports down 14.77 percent.
In contrast, when compared with the preceding month, Indonesian exports in August rose by a strong 5.47 percent, while imports dropped 3.53 percent.
As a result, the country’s trade surplus widened in August to $3.12 billion from July’s figure of $1.31 billion, more than double a Moody’s Analytics forecast of $1.5 billion.
