Indonesia Q1 exports jumps 31.39%
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.