June 4, 2026 | 10:45 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Minister of Trade Budi Santoso stated that the country's trade balance cumulatively from January to April 2026 showed a surplus of US$5.64 billion. "However, the surplus value for January-April 2026 is lower compared to the surplus for the same period in 2025, which reached US$11.07 billion," Budi said in a written statement on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.Budi mentioned that the trade balance for January-April 2026 consisted of a non-oil and gas surplus of US$14.16 billion and an oil and gas deficit of US$8.52 billion.From January to April of 2026, three non-oil and gas commodities contributed the largest surplus, namely animal or vegetable fats and oils, valued at US$11.71 billion; mineral fuels, valued at US$8.34 billion; and iron and steel, valued at US$5.71 billion.Meanwhile, the largest causes of the trade deficit were mechanical machinery and equipment, amounting to US$9.87 billion; electrical machinery and equipment, amounting to US$4.95 billion; and plastics and plastic goods, amounting to US$2.80 billion.In terms of trading partners, the United States had the largest non-oil and gas surplus with Indonesia from January to April of 2026, valued at US$6.81 billion. India followed with US$4.44 billion, and the Philippines with US$2.77 billion.Meanwhile, China had the deepest non-oil and gas deficit, amounting to US$8.03 billion. Australia followed with US$3.05 billion, and Argentina came in third with US$0.73 billion.Indonesia's trade balance in April 2026 recorded a surplus of US$0.09 billion. With this record, Indonesia has maintained a trend of trade balance surplus for 72 consecutive months since May 2020.Budi stated that the trade balance surplus in the fourth month was supported by a non-oil and gas sector surplus of US$3.53 billion. During the same period, the oil and gas sector deficit amounted to US$3.44 billion.In April 2026, Indonesia's total exports reached US$25.30 billion. This amount increased by 12.32 percent compared to March 2026, or rose by 21.98 percent compared to April 2025. The monthly export increase was driven by a 13.66 percent rise in non-oil and gas exports, while oil and gas exports decreased by 9.81 percent.Some of the main non-oil and gas commodities with the highest export growth in April 2026 were coffee, tea, and spices, which increased by 54.44 percent. This was followed by tobacco and cigarettes, which increased by 43.49 percent, and wood and wood products, which increased by 40.91 percent.Additionally, animal or vegetable fats and oils also increased by 38.71 percent, and mechanical machinery and equipment increased by 37.26 percent.Budi mentioned that the increase in demand from main trading partner countries influenced non-oil and gas exports in April 2026. In April 2026, the three countries that saw the greatest export growth of non-oil and gas commodities from Indonesia were the United Arab Emirates (305.21%), South Africa (288.40%), and Belgium (117.84%).Meanwhile, the agricultural sector's exports decreased by 26.27 percent. Budi stated that cocoa and cocoa-based products, as well as coffee, tea, and spices, were the agricultural commodities with the deepest decline. Cocoa and its derivatives decreased by 36.33 percent, while coffee, tea, and spices decreased by 33.48 percent compared to the same period in the previous year (Year on Year). Besides agriculture, the mining and other sectors also decreased by 8.44 percent year-on-year.Read: IDX Boss Assures Market Is Good as JCI Hits LowsClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
