The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) revealed that Indonesia’s trade balance in December 2023 experienced a surplus of 3.31 billion US dollars since May 2022, or a surplus for 44 consecutive months.
“Thus, Indonesia’s trade balance has recorded a surplus for 44 consecutive months since May 2020,” said Deputy for Distribution & Services Statistics, Pudji Ismartini, in the Official Statistics News in Jakarta on Monday (15/01/2024)
According to him, although December 2023 experienced an increase compared to the previous month, there was a decrease compared to the same period in 2022, which reached 3.92 billion US dollars.
The surplus in December 2023 was driven more by non-oil and gas commodities, which reached 5.20 billion US dollars, with the main commodities being mineral fuels, animal and vegetable fats, and iron and steel.
However, at the same time, the oil and gas commodity trade balance recorded a deficit of 1.89 billion US dollars, with the main contributing commodities being oil and crude oil.
Pudji said, according to trading partner countries, in December 2023, Indonesia experienced a goods trade surplus with several countries, namely India (1.43 billion US dollars), the United States (1.32 billion US dollars), and the Philippines (0.72 billion US dollars).
Based on data on the development of Indonesian goods for the 2013–2023 period, Indonesia’s trade balance experienced a surplus consecutively in the last four years, peaked in 2022, and decreased in 2023.