In November 2023, Indonesia's Trade Balance data recorded a surplus of USD 2.41 billion, marking 43 consecutive months of trade surplus. Febrio Kacaribu, Head of the Fiscal Policy Agency (BKF) at the Ministry of Finance, highlighted that cumulatively, Indonesia's trade balance from January to November 2023 showed a surplus of USD 33.63 billion. Febrio stated that Indonesia's ongoing trade surplus demonstrates the country's sustained external resilience amid escalating global risks. He emphasized the government's vigilance in optimizing the State Budget (APBN) to absorb any upheavals, thereby minimizing their impact on the national economy, amidst this still escalating global risk. Indonesia's export value in November 2023 stood at USD 22.0 billion, reflecting a 0.67% monthly decline and an 8.56% annual contraction. However, in terms of volume, Indonesia's exports for November 2023 grew by 6.5% year-on-year (yoy) or 7.2% cumulatively.
Conversely, Indonesia's November 2023 import value totaled USD 19.59 billion, marking a 4.89% monthly increase or 3.29% annual growth. The rise in imports was attributed to increased imports of capital and consumer goods, rising by 13.66% yoy and 19.82% yoy, respectively. However, imports of raw materials and auxiliary materials contracted by 1.05% yoy. Among consumer goods, food and beverage products for households contributed 31.38% to the total imports, followed by semi-durable consumer goods at 17.24%. Febrio noted that the global demand slowdown affecting trade activities was not exclusive to Indonesia but also impacted Indonesia's trading partners like China and the United States (US), which experienced export and import contractions. Regional levels in Malaysia and Singapore also faced export and import contractions. Emphasizing the government's policies such as sustainable downstreaming of natural resources, enhancement of national export product competitiveness, and diversification of major trading partners, Febrio expressed hope that these measures would uphold Indonesia's positive export performance amidst persistently challenging global dynamics.
