BPS Reports 69 Consecutive Months of Trade Surplus
Jakarta - Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded a trade surplus of 0.95 billion US dollars, equivalent to 16 trillion rupiah (at an exchange rate of 16,835 rupiah per US dollar), in January 2026. This marked a surplus that has continued for 69 consecutive months since May 2020.
Ateng Hartono, Deputy for Distribution and Services Statistics at BPS, explained that the surplus was supported by positive performance in non-oil and gas commodity trade, whilst oil and gas trade remained in deficit.
“In January 2026, Indonesia’s trade balance recorded a surplus of 0.95 billion US dollars. This figure was supported by a non-oil and gas commodity surplus of 3.22 billion US dollars, whilst oil and gas commodities still experienced a deficit of 2.27 billion US dollars,” Ateng explained at a BPS press release at BPS Jakarta headquarters on Monday (2/3/2026).
BPS recorded three main destinations for Indonesian non-oil and gas exports: China, the United States, and India. The contribution of these three countries reached 43.77 per cent in January 2026.
China remained the main market with a value of 5.27 billion US dollars or 24.80 per cent, followed by the United States at 2.51 billion US dollars and India at 1.52 billion US dollars.
According to Ateng, non-oil and gas exports to China in January 2026 were dominated by iron and steel, nickel and related products, and mineral fuels.
Exports to the United States were mostly machinery and electrical equipment and parts, footwear, and clothing and accessories (knitted items).
The main contributor still came from the non-oil and gas sector, with import value of 18.04 billion US dollars, an increase of 16.71 per cent compared to January 2025. Oil and gas sector imports also increased by 27.52 per cent year-on-year.
This resulted in the value of oil and gas sector imports in January 2026 being recorded at 3.17 billion US dollars.
From the import side in January 2026, increases occurred in raw materials or auxiliary materials, capital goods, and consumer goods. The import value of raw materials/auxiliary materials as the main driver of the increase in imports in January 2026 was recorded at 14.88 billion US dollars, an increase of 14.67 per cent compared to January 2025.
Meanwhile, capital goods imports were recorded at 4.49 billion US dollars, or an increase of 35.23 per cent compared to the same month last year.
China remained the main country with import value of 7.89 billion US dollars or 43.75 per cent, followed by Australia at 1.07 billion US dollars or 5.92 per cent and Japan at 0.95 billion US dollars.
Imports from China mainly consisted of machinery/electrical equipment and parts, mechanical machinery/equipment and parts, and plastic and plastic products.
Furthermore, the non-oil and gas trade surplus in January 2026 was largely supported by five main commodities: animal and vegetable fats and oils at 3.10 billion US dollars, mineral fuels at 2.16 billion US dollars, iron and steel at 1.51 billion US dollars, nickel and related products at 1.03 billion US dollars, and footwear at 0.49 billion US dollars.