Indonesia only narrowly avoided a trade deficit in April as the cost of imported oil and gas products skyrocketed in April.
Workers load and unload containers at Tanjung Priok International Export-Import Port in Jakarta on Feb. 4, 2026. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
Indonesia has narrowly avoided a trade deficit as the cost of imported oil and gas products skyrocketed in April due to the global energy crisis sparked by the Iran war, yet economists believe the country will manage to hold onto its surplus this year.Statistics Indonesia (BPS) revealed in a press conference on Tuesday that Indonesia’s exports exceeded imports for a “72nd consecutive month”, but only just.
The exports totaled US$25.3 billion while imports amounted to $25.21 billion, bringing the trade surplus to just $90 million, the narrowest reading since the country last recorded a deficit of $375 million in April 2020.
Exports were up a healthy 21.98 percent year-on-year (yoy) in April, but that increase was outpaced by imports growing 22.49 percent yoy.
