Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said Indonesia's economic growth of 5.44% was one of the highest in the world. He explained that in the midst of the global economic recovery, Indonesia's economic performance in the first quarter of 2022 based on the amount of gross domestic product (GDP) reached IDR 4,413 trillion. This figure grew by 5.01% year on year (YoY). "This growth was supported by export growth and our second quarter included the highest economic growth in the world, one of the highest in the world, 5.44 percent. Please note," he said at the opening ceremony of the 37th Trade Expo Indonesia at the Auditorium of the Ministry of Trade, Central Jakarta, Wednesday, August 10, 2022.
According to Zulhas, this achievement is a matter of pride in the midst of the current situation. "That Indonesia still has something missing is natural, because it is a big country," he said. In addition, he said, the performance in the first half of 2022 also showed positive results because the trade balance had a surplus of US$ 24.89 billion, the highest as long as Indonesia became independent. The surplus was driven by the non-oil and gas sector of US$ 36.9 billion and the deficit in the oil and gas sector of US$ 11.7 billion. "Imagine if we were sovereign in the future, this is our surplus in the first quarter only if we add this energy like three foreign exchange reserves, it's amazingly cool," said Zulhas. The chairman of the National Mandate Party or PAN also added various global challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, which does not know when it will end. In addition, there are geopolitical challenges, food crises, energy, and increasing world inflationary pressures that have not reduced the positive performance of Indonesia's trade balance.
"Even the trade surplus in the first half of 2022 is the largest in the history of the Republic of Indonesia," said Zulhas.
