Indef: March Trade Surplus Positive in Supporting Indonesia's Economy

Economist from the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) Eko Listiyanto stated that Indonesia’s trade surplus in March this year is positive in supporting the national economy amid current geopolitical turmoil. “This, in my view, is positive for supporting our economy as a whole,” Eko said when contacted by ANTARA in Jakarta on Tuesday. He added that Indonesia’s trade surplus for the March 2026 period, reaching US$3.32 billion, can also bolster the external resilience of Indonesia’s economy. “So it’s positive in supporting our external resilience. For the real sector, the exports are improving in my view amid the current geopolitical turmoil,” he said. Deputy for Distribution and Services Statistics at BPS, Ateng Hartono, stated that cumulatively from January to March 2026, Indonesia experienced a gain of US$5.55 billion, with details of exports at US$66.85 billion and imports at US$61.30 billion. He explained that Indonesia’s exports during that period were supported by several flagship commodities, namely iron and steel, CPO and its derivatives, as well as coal, contributing 28.53 percent of the total cumulative non-oil and gas exports from January to March 2026. Meanwhile, imports during that period were dominated by auxiliary raw materials at US$43.17 billion, capital goods at US$12.98 billion, while consumer goods were only US$5.15 billion. Executive Director of Communication at Bank Indonesia, Ramdan Denny Prakoso, said that going forward, Bank Indonesia will continue to strengthen policy synergies with the government and other authorities to further enhance external resilience and support sustainable national economic growth.