Indonesia's commodity-rich East Kalimantan is one of the worst affected Indonesian provinces in terms of global trade and weak commodity prices. East Kalimantan's export performance is heavily dependent on prices of oil, natural gas and coal. In 2015 the total value of East Kalimantan's exports plunged 30.4 percent year-on-year (y/y) to USD $18.3 billion from USD $26.35 billion in the preceding year. Since 2011 the province's exports have posted a consecutive annual decline in line with the declining trend of commodity prices.

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Most Asian stock markets fell on Tuesday (23/02) on extended concerns about the world's low crude oil prices and China's economic slowdown. Indonesia's benchmark Jakarta Composite Index (IHSG) plunged 1.16 percent to 4,654.05 points, leading declines in Asia as the nation's banking shares were also affected by local financial authorities' plans to curtail the net interest margin in order to bring down Indonesian banks' lending rates and boost credit expansion in Southeast Asia's largest economy.

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Oil production at the Banyu Urip field, part of the Cepu Block in East Java, has finally reached the level of 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February 2016 after a long delay. According to Indonesia's oil & gas regulator SKK Migas, production at the field stood at an average of 130,000 bpd in the first month of 2016. The Banyu Urip field, operated by ExxonMobil Cepu Ltd, is expected to reach its top production rate - around 165,000 bpd - in March or April. This would mean that the Banyu Urip field accounts for nearly 20 percent of Indonesia's total oil production.

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Indonesian Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has a strong suspicion that the "rice mafia" is behind the recent fluctuations in rice supply and prices in Indonesia. Suspicion emerged after new rice supplies suddenly 'flooded' Indonesian markets in February when prices of rice had already risen due to the scarcity of supplies. Sulaiman believes there is a cartel consisting of six big Indonesian rice distributors that deliberately hid rice output after last year's harvest and waited for prices to rise significantly before supplying rice to the markets in order to see higher profits.

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