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View all search resultsGovt ships $1.6b exports on Q3 surplus momentum
Indonesian exports have set sail while the government seeks new shores in an effort to kickstart a revival in trade to counter the currents of the pandemic-induced global slowdown.
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T
he government on Friday released a shipment of exports worth US$1.64 billion by 133 large and small businesses to seek alternative markets and to revive Indonesian trade, which has slowed during the COVID-19 crisis.
While 79 large businesses accounted for the overwhelming majority of the exports, 54 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) contributed $12.3 million.
“One of the keys to improving the national economy is by boosting exports, which not only helps businesses to grow and create jobs, but also generates foreign exchange [forex] reserves to reduce our current account deficit,” President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said at a virtual press conference on Dec. 4.
Indonesia’s forex reserves stagnated in November at $133.6 billion after booking $133.7 billion in October, supported by government foreign debt withdrawal as well as tax and forex earnings from oil and gas, Bank Indonesia (BI) announced on Monday.
The country recorded its first current account surplus since 2011 of $1 billion in the third quarter, as imports fell faster than exports due to weak domestic demand amid the health crisis, BI’s November data showed. The current account surplus was equal to 0.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and a significant reversal from the $2.9 billion deficit recorded in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s exports fell 3.29 percent year-on-year (yoy) in October to $14.39 billion, although the figure represented a month-to-month (mtm) increase of 3.09 percent from September, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data. Imports fell steeper by 26.9 percent yoy to $10.78 billion on the same month from the previous year.
“But we cannot be immediately satisfied with this achievement, because there are still plenty of potential export markets that we have not tapped,” the President said.
