Exports Drop to US$22.53 Billion in March, Indonesian Coal and Coffee Sales Slump

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The value of Indonesia’s exports fell in March 2026 by 3.10% to just US$22.53 billion from US$23.25 billion in the same month the previous year.

The total export figure declined due to drops across all components. The largest was the 11.84% decrease in oil and gas exports from US$1.45 billion to US$1.28 billion. Meanwhile, non-oil and gas exports fell 2.52% from US$21.79 billion to US$21.25 billion.

“The decline in March export value was driven by the drop in non-oil and gas exports, particularly the animal and vegetable fats and oils commodity, which fell 27.02% with a contribution to the decline of 3.52%,” said Deputy for Distribution and Services Statistics at BPS, Ateng Hartono, during a press conference in Jakarta on Monday (4/5/2026).

Referring to the non-oil and gas export sectors that experienced the largest decline in March 2026, there was indeed a contraction in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries exports of 44.14% from US$0.58 billion to US$0.32 billion.

“This year-on-year decline was caused by the drop in agricultural exports, specifically in coffee, fruits, medicinal and aromatic plants and spices, bird’s nests, and cloves,” Ateng explained.

The mining and other sectors fell 2.15% from US$3.07 billion to US$3 billion, while the processing industry sector declined 1.26% from US$18.15 billion to US$17.92 billion.

Based on its flagship commodities, coal was one of those that declined and has experienced a drop in export volume throughout the first three months of the year. For the January-March 2026 period, its export value fell 11.51% from US$6.22 billion to US$5.50 billion.

However, for iron and steel commodities, the export value still managed to rise, albeit by only 0.56% from US$6.49 billion in January-March 2025 to US$6.53 billion in January-March 2026. Similarly, CPO and its derivatives rose 3.56% from US$5.90 billion to US$6.11 billion.