Ministry of Trade: Processed Palm Oil and Nickel Products Boost Indonesia's Exports

Jakarta — The Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) said that Indonesia’s export performance in January 2026 was propelled by the processing industry, including processed palm oil products and nickel, which reached US$18.51 billion, up from US$17.11 billion in January 2025. In a written statement from Jakarta on Thursday, Trade Minister Budi Santoso said the processing industry accounted for 83.53 percent of total exports in January 2026. The processing industry products that grew included processed palm oil products, nickel, iron and steel, semiconductors, and motor vehicles. In particular, refined tin products grew by as much as 191 percent, influenced by the export ban on tin ore. “The three main non-oil and gas commodities with the highest export increases in January 2026 were tin and its products, up 191.38 percent; animal or vegetable fats and oils up 46.05 percent; and nickel and its products up 42.04 percent (YoY). This was driven by higher international prices for these three commodities,” said Budi. Besides the processing industry, early-year export performance was also supported by the mining and others sector contributing 10.48 percent, crude oil and gas 4.03 percent, and agriculture 1.97 percent year on year. By contrast, exports of the agriculture sector fell 20.36 percent and mining and other sectors fell 14.59 percent year on year. On the export destinations side, China (US$5.27 billion), the United States (US$2.51 billion), and India (US$1.52 billion) remained Indonesia’s major non-oil and gas export markets, totalling US$9.30 billion, or 43.77 percent of total national non-oil and gas exports in January 2026. Indonesia’s trade balance in January 2026 again posted a surplus of US$0.95 billion. The surplus was supported by a non-oil and gas surplus of US$3.23 billion, despite an oil and gas deficit of US$2.27 billion. Total exports amounted to US$22.16 billion, up 3.39 percent year on year from January 2025. The increase was mainly driven by growth in non-oil and gas exports, up 4.38 percent (YoY) to US$21.26 billion from US$20.37 billion. Meanwhile, total imports stood at US$21.20 billion, up 18.21 percent compared with January 2025’s US$17.94 billion.