The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded that the export value of South Sulawesi Province (Sulsel) from January to November 2023 reached USD 2.05 billion, resulting in a surplus of USD 1.044 billion, with total imports amounting to USD 1.006 billion or approximately IDR 15.55 trillion. According to Aryanto, the Head of BPS Sulsel, several key commodities in South Sulawesi, such as nickel, maintain stable export demand monthly, along with other commodities. The consistent export demand surpasses the value of monthly import transactions, leading to a sustained surplus. The primary exported commodities per month include nickel contributing to 50.75%, iron and steel (11.96%), fish and shrimp (9.04%), oilseeds (8.35%), and cocoa/chocolate at 6.12% of the total exports.
Aryanto highlighted nickel as the leading exported commodity from Sulsel between January and November 2023, valued at USD 1.134 billion, followed by iron and steel commodities at USD 368.36 million. Other notable exports were oilseeds at USD 189.30 million, fish and shrimp at USD 82.02 million, and resins, rubber, and gum at USD 71.06 million. These top 10 commodities contributed USD 2.015 billion or 97.02% to Sulsel's export trade balance, with the remaining 2.98% or USD 120.38 million from other trades. Regarding the export destinations for Sulsel during January-November 2023, the top five countries were Japan, accounting for approximately 55.09% at USD 1.176 billion, followed by China at 29.29% (USD 668.24 million), Australia at 1.61% (USD 26.60 million), Taiwan at 2.16% (USD 23.54 million), and the United States at 2.25% (USD 22.24 million) of Sulsel's total export value.
