"Thus, the government has consistently maintained, and even improved this good performance by anticipating many risks, whether external or domestic, which could impact Indonesian exports," he said, according to a statement received here on Friday.
In May, national exports reached US$21.72 billion, reflecting a growth of 0.96 percent year on year (yoy) and marking an increase after stagnating in April due to short workdays during Eid al-Fitr, he noted.
Kacaribu said that the positive performance in May was backed by the expansion of the manufacturing sector of Indonesia's trading partners, such as China, Japan, India, and the Philippines.
Moreover, in May, Indonesia recorded imports of US$21.28 billion, a growth of 14.35 percent yoy, he added.
The increase in imports was due to the expansion of the national manufacturing sector and the high domestic consumption rate, Kacaribu explained.
The better export and import performance led to Indonesia's trade balance recording a surplus of US$440 million in May and US$16.5 billion in the first five months of 2023, he noted.
This means that Indonesia experienced a surplus for 37 consecutive months, Kacaribu said.
He also listed the countries that contributed to the surplus in May — the United States, the Philippines, and India.
He said exports are predicted to continue to grow positively amid a decline in commodity prices, with India as a potential export destination considering its manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) has expanded continuously.
"The government has consistently conducted many efforts to improve national export performance, such as the diversification of export destination countries, natural resources downstreaming, and optimizing trade cooperation agreements with partnering countries," he added.
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Translator: Agatha Olivia Victoria, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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