Indonesia Q1 exports jumps 31.39%
Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia's first quarter exports jumped 31.39 percent to US$19.76 billion from $15.04 billion in the same period last year, thanks in part to increased demand for coal, ores, copper and other minerals, as well as knitted apparel.
The Central Statistic Agency (BPS) announced on Monday the country's non-oil and gas exports led the surge with a first quarter performance of $15.43 billion, up by more than a third from 2004's first quarter of $11.50 billion.
Despite the strong performance of non-oil and gas exports, Ministry of Trade Mari E. Pangestu maintained a modest target of about 10 percent export growth for the year.
She said the weakening U.S. dollar, raising oil prices and China's slowing economy would eventually put a brake on Indonesia's export growth.
Higher exports require more investment, but this fresh investment will not bear fruit until next year, she said.
The mining sector continued to pushing non-oil and gas exports in the opening quarter of 2005.
Exports in the mining sector rose 125.69 percent in the first quarter this year from the same period last year, with the main driver being the commodity group of ores, slag and ash, which include ores of manganese, iron, copper, cobalt, aluminum, lead, zinc, tin, gold and silver.
The agency did not provide individual breakdowns for the different minerals, only saying first quarter exports of the commodity group almost tripled to $702 million from $236.3 million in the corresponding period last year.
There was no explanation for this surge in exports of ores, slag and ash. The agency also said coal was a top performer.
"As oil prices soared to above $50 per barrel, countries sought cheaper alternative energy sources. They then turned to coal," said the head of BPS' exports statistics subdirectorate, Dantes Simbolon.
According to the agency, coal exports doubled from $550.1 million in the January-March period last year to $1.11 billion in 2005.
Dantes said demand for coal began rising last year and would likely continue to climb throughout 2005.
Rising oil prices further played a role in increasing total export value, as oil and gas exports shout up almost 22 percent to $4.33 billion in the first quarter of 2005, compared to $3.54 billion the previous year.
Japan, the United States and Singapore remained the top export destinations for Indonesia's non-oil and gas commodities in the first three months of the year, with exports to the three countries reaching $883 million, $862.8 million and $630 million, respectively.
Indonesia's exports last year reached an historic high of US$69.71 billion, up 11.49 percent from the year before, boosted by strong sales of non-oil and gas commodities including palm oil, electronics, clothing, coal and tin.
Non-oil and gas commodities last year expanded by almost 11 percent from 2003 to a record high of $54.13 billion, making up about 78 percent of national exports.