Sustainable and Competitive Exports

Now is the time for us to reorganize our industrialization and trade strategy. We need to shift from a broad base industry strategy and focus on a specific industry that has a sustainable and comparative advantage.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Aerial photo of import-export activities at the Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT), North Jakarta, Wednesday (16/6/2021).

Indonesia’s exports showed a significant increase on a yearly basis in May but suffered a decline on a monthly basis. The monthly drop should, therefore, be monitored.

Oil and gas, and non-oil and gas exports reached a total of US$16.6 billion in May 2021, a 58.76 percent increase compared to the same month last year, although they fell from April 2021. The highest increase came from exports in the processing industry. Meanwhile, imports reached $14.23 billion in May, a 68.68 percent increase compared the same period in 2020, but imports suffered a decline from the previous month.