Trade Balance of Indonesia Swings Back into Deficit in July 2019
Indonesia’s trade balance swung back into a deficit in July 2019 as the country’s exports could not compensate for its imports. However, at USD $63 million, the monthly deficit is not too big (compared to the USD $2.3 billion and USD $1.1 billion deficits that were recorded in April and January, respectively).
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) attributed the latest monthly deficit to falling commodity prices that undermined Indonesia’s export performance. Suhariyanto, Head of BPS, stated that the price of crude palm oil (CPO) has declined 0.18 percent year-on-year (y/y), while the coal price declined 39.72 percent (y/y), even though exports of both commodities actually rose, volume-wise, in July 2019. Suhariyanto therefore, again, emphasized the need for Indonesia to reduce its dependence on exports of raw materials and, instead, shift the nation’s production downstream in order to boost added value.
Read the full article in the August 2019 edition of our monthly research report. You can purchase the report by sending an email to info@indonesia-investments.com or a WhatsApp message to the following number: +62(0)8788.410.6944
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