Jakarta – Robust demand for Indonesia's crude palm oil (CPO) and rubber helped push up the country's total exports for the first two months of the year by nearly 19 percent from the same period last year, offsetting a drop of more than 10 percent in oil and gas exports in February.
Indonesia's total exports in February amounted to US$7.35 billion, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported Monday – a 2.19 percent decline from the January figure, but still up 15.18 percent from February last year.
Non-oil and gas exports, which account for more than three quarters of the country's total exports, rose 0.38 percent to $5.72 billion from January, with the main markets being the 25 nations of the European Union, and the US and Japan.
Indonesia's oil and gas exports, meanwhile, dropped by 10.24 percent to $1.63 billion in February, due to both lower export volumes and prices for the two commodities on the global market, BPS chief Choiril Maksum said.
Counting January's $7.51 billion in total exports, Indonesia's exports during the first two months of this year are still rising steadily, coming in at a total of $14.86 billion, up 18.79 percent from the same period in the previous year.
Of February's non-oil and gas exports, exports of animal fats and vegetable oils, which include Indonesia's main export commodity, CPO and its derivatives, enjoyed the biggest increase, booking a combined value of $471.8 million, as compared to $365.7 million in January.
Following CPO, exports of rubber and rubber products rose by 21 percent to $421.2 million. However, exports of steel and iron products fell by almost 42 percent to a combined total value of $381.7 million.
The report also revealed that Indonesia imported a total of $4.51 billion-worth of goods in February, up 5.64 percent from January, with the main component consisting of machinery from Japan, China and the US. Overall, the country had a trade surplus of $6.08 billion in the first two months of 2006.
The government expects Indonesia's total exports to grow by between 7 and 13 percent this year, Trade Minister Mari E. Pangestu has said, from last year's record high of $85.6 billion.
Indonesia urgently needs to increase its exports, not only to boost its foreign exchange reserves but also to spur economic activity and growth, which last year slowed amid high inflation and interest rates. Net exports currently account for less than 10 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP).