September exports the lowest of the year
September exports the lowest of the year
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Exports plunged by 16 percent in September from August to
US$4.32 billion, the lowest level this year, due to an economic
slowdown in key export markets, the Central Bureau of Statistics
(BPS) said on Thursday.
The BPS also reported that imports during the month dropped by
11.47 percent to $2.14 billion, a sign of subdued economic
activity at home.
The data provides further evidence of the country's grim
economic outlook.
Senior BPS official Slamet Mukeno told a press conference that
the drop in exports was mainly due to slower non-oil and gas
exports amid weakening in the economies of the U.S., Japan, and
Singapore, the country's major export markets.
Raden Pardede, a senior analyst at Danareksa Securities, said
the trade figures were no surprising given the global economic
downturn.
He said that besides weakened global demand, Indonesian
exports were also facing stiff competition from other countries
such as China.
"Furthermore, there are also fears of delivery problems, that
Indonesia may not be able to deliver goods on time," Raden told
The Jakarta Post.
Raden said that the main concern was the 11.47 percent
decrease in imports caused by the slowing down in Indonesia's own
economy.
"Imports usually consist of capital goods and raw materials.
If they are down, then it means our economy is weakening," he
said, noting that the slowdown has been felt since July this
year.
Raden said he expected exports to further decline until the
end of the year, and given the bleak outlook for the country's
economy, exports may well only improve in the first semester of
next year.
Separately, chairman of the National Agency for Export
Development (BPEN) Gusmardi Bustami said on Thursday that exports
for 2001 would likely drop to between $42 billion and $45 billion
compared to $47 billion last year. The government has projected
exports to reach $51 billion this year.
He said that the global economic slowdown, which has been
exacerbated by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., would
deal a serious blow to Indonesian exports.
September exports fell to $4.32 billion from $5.14 billion in
August, while imports declined to $2.14 billion from $2.42
billion in August.
The trade surplus in September fell by 19.85 percent to $2.18
billion from $2.72 billion in the previous month.
The BPS said that exports in the January-September period also
declined by 5.25 percent to $43.67 billion compared to the same
period last year.
But imports in the nine-month period increased by 7.06 percent
to $24.75 billion compared to the same period in 2000.
Elsewhere, the BPS announced that inflation in October was up
0.68 percent, sending year-on-year inflation to 12.47 percent.
This has dashed hopes of a lower domestic interest rate
environment, a crucial requirement for helping promote growth and
accelerating crucial corporate debt restructuring programs.
Bank Indonesia has kept its benchmark interest rate at 17.58
percent compared to 12 percent at the beginning of this year in a
bid to curb inflation.
The BPS said that inflation between January and October was
recorded at 8.89 percent.
The government's inflation target for this year is between 9
percent and 11 percent.
The BPS said that inflation was due to an increase in the
prices of goods and services with the highest increases occurring
in the prices of clothing at 1.95 percent; unprocessed foods at
1.16 percent; and processed food, beverages, cigarettes and
tobacco at 0.46 percent.
Price increases also affected the cost of housing (up 0.42
percent), education, recreation and sports (up 0.29 percent),
healthcare (up 0.27 percent), and transportation and
communications (up 0.11 percent).