Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Indonesia's exports wrapped up 2006 on another record high, booking growth of nearly 20 percent over the previous year to close at more than US$100 billion for the first time ever.
Full-year exports for 2006 were worth US$100.69 billion, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported Thursday, up 17.55 percent from 2005, on the back of strong demand for the country's non-oil and gas commodities, particularly coal, rubber, metal ores, copper, palm oil and textiles.
The government had forecast that last year's exports would grow by 15 percent from the $85.6 billion booked in 2005. Exports in December alone reached $9.5 billion, up 6.43 percent from the previous month.
"This is the first time that monthly exports have exceeded $9 billion," BPS director Rusman Heriawan told a media briefing to announce the 2006 trade figures. "Total exports between January and December surpassed the psychological level of more than $100 billion for the first time ever."
Non-oil and gas exports remained the main drivers of last year's strong export performance, growing 19 percent to account for more than three-fourths of overall export value at $79.5 billion.
Indonesia's total oil and gas exports between January and December 2006 amounted to $21.18 billion, up 10 percent from the same period in 2005 on higher output and crude prices.
Meanwhile, Rusman said that Indonesia's non-oil and gas exports continued to benefit from the rising global move to alternative fuels, thus pushing up the demand for coal and palm oil.
The world's workshop, China, was still booming, thus increasing demand for Indonesia's other main export commodities – metals, copper and rubber. China is now the fifth largest importer of Indonesian exports, after Japan, the 25 countries of the European Union (EU), the US and Singapore.
"The main export commodities came mostly from the agriculture and mining sectors, or still natural resource-based exports, so to speak," Rusman said.
Exports of mineral fuels, mainly coal, grew by $1.98 billion, or 30 percent, last year to reach $6.47 billion, followed by rubber, which grew by $1.95 billion, or 35 percent, to $5.53 billion.
Metal-ore exports increased 28 percent to $4.9 billion, while vegetable oil and animal fat exports, including palm oil, rose by 17 percent to $6 billion.
On the other side of the trade account, Indonesia's imports from January to December 2006 amounted to $61.08 billion, representing an increase of 5.85 percent from the previous year. Imports in December stood at $4.94 billion, down 15 percent from November, with China still being Indonesia's main supplier.
Based on the import and export figures, Indonesia's trade surplus for the year increased to $39.61 billion from the $27.96 billion surplus recorded in 2005.