October's exports reach two-year high: BPS
October's exports reach two-year high: BPS
Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Exports in October rose again for the second consecutive month
to US$5.32 billion, which marked the highest monthly export
figure in two years, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said
on Monday.
BPS chairperson Soedarti Surbakti told a media briefing that
October's export revenue, which was 4.31 percent higher than the
$5.1 billion posted the previous month, indicated an improvement
in the export market.
"National exports show improvement from time to time and are a
positive indication of 2002 export growth," Soedarti said.
She added that the good performance during the month could
well indicate that the global economic recovery was on the right
track.
Recovery in the world's major economic forces, namely the
U.S., Japan and Singapore, is significant for Indonesia to boost
its export performance. The three countries have long been the
country's main export destinations.
Non-oil and gas exports to Japan, the U.S. and Singapore in
October stood at $619.2 million, $609.4 million and $470 million
respectively.
"Exports to the three countries account for 40.6 percent of
the country's total exports," Soedarti said.
BPS said that the rise in October exports was attributable to
a rise in both oil and gas, and non-oil and gas exports.
Non-oil and gas exports increased by 3.7 percent to $4.18
billion, from $4.03 billion the previous month, while oil and gas
exports rose 6.7 percent to $1.14 billion, from 1.07 billion.
Contributing most to the non-oil and gas exports were sales of
machinery and wooden manufactured goods, which reached $407.1
million and $296.4 million respectively.
Accumulatively, however, January to October exports of $47.21
billion were still lower than the $48.21 billion recorded in the
same period last year.
Meanwhile, the country also posted a rise in imports during
the month as import values rose to $3.15 billion, from $2.90
billion in September.
This means the country's trade surplus for October was
slightly lower, at $2.17 billion as against $2.21 billion in
September.
The trade surplus, or net exports, contributed less than 9
percent to the nation's economic growth, with investment and
domestic consumption being the other main growth engines.
Although net exports contributed little to overall growth,
high export sales could mean another source of job creation as
exporters might need to expand their capacity to meet rising
demand.
Since most exporters use imported raw materials to manufacture
their products, a rise in imports also often indicates higher
demand from overseas.
BPS said that non-oil and gas imports in October increased to
$2.43 billion from $2.33 billion.