Trade surplus of USD 2.47 Billion Translucent Figures Exports Up, Imports Down

Head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Rusman Heriawan said the trade performance of Indonesia began to show a trend reversal.

If exports drop in April and imports rose, in May, exports rose and imports fell.

''As a result, our trade surplus improved, through the figure of USD 2.47 billion. This is the highest monthly surplus figures throughout 2010,''he said at the BPS office yesterday (1 / 7).

Based on BPS data, the value of exports during May 2010 reached USD 12.523 billion, up by 4.06 percent than April exports amounted to USD 12.053 billion. May exports consist of oil and gas exports to USD 2.270 billion and USD 10.253 billion non-oil exports.

Cumulatively, the total value of exports during January-May reached USD 60.095 billion consisting of oil and gas exports to USD 11.163 billion and USD 48.932 billion non-oil. In terms of sectors, non-oil exports contributed to the industrial sector reached USD 36.387 billion, the mining sector to USD 10.771 billion, and the agricultural sector to USD 1.772 billion.

If exports in May rose, imports actually decreased. BPS recorded May imports amounted to USD 10.056 billion, down 10.5 percent than April imports of USD 11.235 billion. May imports consist of oil and gas imports to USD 2.030 billion and USD 8.025 billion non-oil imports.

With these values, said Rusman, the April trade balance surplus and then shrink to USD 0.51 billion figure jumped to $ 2.47 billion in May. Figures for April surplus was even exceeded the value of the highest surplus ever recorded in the period of January 2010 amounted to USD 2.03 billion. ''Of course, increase this surplus to improve our foreign exchange reserves,''he said.

He added that Indonesia's trade balance with trading partner countries have a relatively fixed pattern. For example, with countries like Singapore, China, Japan, Australia, and European Union countries in the region, Indonesia has always been a deficit. ''But, with countries like the U.S., Korea, and Taiwan, we are always a surplus,''he said.

Rusman mention, one of the trading performance of the government to worry about is with China. Therefore, the balance of trade deficit with that the Bamboo Curtain country continues to swell. ''For example, last May, while total imports fell, imports from China keep rising,''he explained