Trade Minister Pushes for Increased Exports Amid Rupiah Weakness
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Trade Minister Budi Santoso stated that the government is continuously pushing for an increase in national exports amid the weakening of the rupiah’s exchange rate against the US dollar.
Budi said that Indonesia’s export performance is still showing a positive trend throughout the early part of the year.
Up to March 2026, national exports were recorded to have grown by around 0.39 per cent cumulatively compared to the same period in the previous year.
“We continue to push so that the growth does not become even smaller later. That’s why one of the ways we are doing this is by encouraging our friends to keep increasing exports. Hopefully, April will continue to rise,” Budi said during the “Ngobrol Produk Indonesia (Ngopi) UMKM” event in Jakarta on Wednesday.
According to him, the rupiah’s weakening does not necessarily become an obstacle for the foreign trade sector.
The government is instead utilising this momentum to strengthen the competitiveness of Indonesian products in the global market.
“Whatever the conditions, we must keep finding ways out so that our exports continue to run, even keep increasing,” he said.
He added that the Ministry of Trade, together with business actors, continues to take various steps to maintain export growth so that it does not slow down.
One of them is by encouraging exporters to expand destination markets and increase shipment volumes.
The Trade Minister said that the export realisation for the January-March 2026 period still shows good performance with growth approaching 1 per cent.
This achievement is considered positive given the global economic situation that is still filled with uncertainties, including conflict dynamics and international trade pressures.
The government is also optimistic that the export sector will remain the main pillar of national economic growth, while maintaining the stability of Indonesia’s trade balance amid rupiah exchange rate fluctuations and global economic challenges.
In March 2026, Indonesia’s export performance was recorded at $22.53 billion or grew 1.62 per cent compared to February 2026, but contracted 3.10 per cent year-on-year.
The monthly export increase was driven by a 18.60 per cent surge in oil and gas exports, while non-oil and gas exports grew limitedly by 0.75 per cent.