Exports up on higher commodity prices<\/p>\n
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Stronger prices for the country's main agricultural export
\ncommodities helped strengthen Indonesia's export performance
\nduring the first four months of this year, a senior official at
\nthe Ministry of Industry and Trade said.<\/p>\n
"The prices of agricultural commodities, particularly crude
\npalm oil (CPO), rubber, coffee and cocoa, in the international
\nmarket have been on the rise," director general for foreign
\naffairs at the ministry, Sudar SA, told The Jakarta Post on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
Sudar said export value during the first four months of the
\nyear jumped by 49 percent for CPO, coffee 16 percent and cocoa 12
\npercent.<\/p>\n
The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported earlier this week
\nthat the country's exports during the January-April period rose
\nby more than 13 percent to US$19.95 billion from the same period
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
BPS said export value from the agricultural sector grew by
\n9.72 percent, while exports from the industrial sector increased
\nby 6.41 percent and mining (including oil and gas) by 31.42
\npercent. The agricultural sector, however, accounts for only a
\nsmall fraction (4.04 percent) of the country's export value
\nstructure, which is still largely dominated by the industrial
\nsector (65.29 percent).<\/p>\n
The government is hoping that exports can help push the
\neconomy to grow at a higher rate of 4 percent this year, from 3.7
\npercent last year, amid signs that domestic consumption, which
\nhas been the main engine for growth during the past couple of
\nyears, has begun to weaken.<\/p>\n
There has been concern that exports would remain weak this
\nyear amid the global economic slowdown and uncertainties at home,
\nwhich have prompted foreign buyers to shift attention to other
\ncountries in the region.<\/p>\n
Others, however, believe that Indonesia's exports will be
\nlargely unaffected by the global slowdown because they are mainly
\nagricultural commodities, low-end manufacturing goods and oil and
\ngas products.<\/p>\n
There also have been fears that the rapid appreciation of the
\nrupiah, which strengthened to a 31-month high against the U.S.
\ndollar last week, would affect exports.<\/p>\n
But Sudar said that so far the strength of the rupiah had not
\naffected exports.<\/p>\n
He maintained the government's earlier forecast that non-oil
\nand gas exports this year would rise by 5 percent to about $47
\nbillion from last year's level.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, industry newsletter Oil World, as quoted by
\nBloomberg newswire on Monday, reported that world palm oil prices
\nmight rise in the coming months due to an increase in demand from
\nIndia, the world's largest importer of the edible oil, and a drop
\nin stockpiles.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, the world's second largest producer of CPO after
\nMalaysia, sold some 710,000 tons of the commodity to India
\nbetween January and April this year.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association predicted that
\nthe country's export of CPO and derivative products would reach
\nsome six million tons this year.<\/p>\n
The association is also optimistic that this year's CPO output
\nwill reach 9.6 million tons, from last year's figure of nine
\nmillion tons.<\/p>\n
Data from related associations showed that the country's
\nannual export volume of rubber, cocoa and coffee were 1.23
\nmillion tons, 344,000 tons and 400,000 tons, respectively.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/exports-up-on-higher-commodity-prices-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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