Indonesia’s trade balance with the two warring countries, Russia and Ukraine, was in deficit due to the ongoing war, Head of the Statistics Indonesia (BPS) Margo Yuwono stated.
“We would like to conclude that this conflict has caused our trade balance to be in deficit, in which the largest deficit is with Russia,” Yuwono noted during a press conference here on Monday.
The BPS head explained that Indonesia’s three main export commodities to Russia were animal or vegetable fats and oils, rubber and rubber products, as well as electrical machinery and equipment.
In January 2022, Indonesia’s exports of animal or vegetable fats and oils to Russia were recorded at US$102.4 million, while the figure was recorded at US$102 million in February 2022. However, in March 2022, its value only reached US$58.3 million.
“Hence, there has been a decline in the exports of animal or vegetable fats and oils due to the conflict,” he pointed out.
Moreover, the exports of rubber and rubber goods in March 2022 also fell to only US$600 thousand, as compared to US$7.1 million in January 2022 and US$7.3 million in February 2022.
The decline in exports also occurred in machinery and electrical equipment commodities, wherein during January 2022, the value had reached US$11.1 million, US$10.7 million in February 2022, and US$2.5 million in March.
Hence, the trade balance between Indonesia and Russia during the January-March 2022 period experienced a deficit of US$204.6 million. This figure decreased significantly when compared to a surplus of US$42.2 million during the same period in 2021.
In the meantime, Indonesia’s main export commodities with Ukraine are animal or vegetable fats and oils, paperboard, and footwear.
“In March, there were no exports to Ukraine at all. This shows that this conflict is interfering with our exports to Ukraine,” Yuwono noted.
Hence, Indonesia’s trade value with Ukraine for the January-March 2022 period experienced a deficit of US$13.5 million. This figure fell significantly when compared to a surplus of US$53.6 million during the same period of the previous year.
“I hope that tensions will be resolved quickly, so that we can quickly improve our trade balance with the two countries,” Yuwono stated.
Source: Antara News