The export value in November reached US$15.28 billion, marking an increase of 9.54 percent year-on-year (yoy), Statistics Indonesia (BPS) announced on Tuesday. This means the country booked its first annual increase in export value since June.

“These figures show that export growth in November was very satisfying, as it has increased both on a month-to-month and year-on-year basis,” BPS head Suhariyanto said in a virtual presser on Tuesday.

Like global trade in general, Indonesia’s trade has been taking a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused logistical disruptions and declines in demand as economies around the world suffer from movement restrictions implemented to curb the virus’ spread.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) data published on Oct. 21 showed that global trade recorded a 5 percent drop yoy in the third quarter, an improvement compared to a 19 percent annual plunge recorded in the second quarter. It expects fourth-quarter global trade to contract 3 percent from the corresponding period last year, resulting in a 7 to 9 percent contraction in 2020.

Meanwhile, the World Trade Organization projected on Oct. 6 that the world’s merchandise trade would shrink 9.2 percent this year before growing 7.2 percent in 2021.

The growth in Indonesia’s exports in November followed a 3.49 percent yoy decline in October, BPS data shows. The monthly uptick in prices of Indonesia’s main commodities helped put export growth back on the positive territory in November, according to Suhariyanto.

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