The Finance Ministry has continued to monitor price stability as well as basic food and energy availability to control the domestic inflation rate amid global trade disruption.
“Various efforts have been done by the government to maintain price stability and the availability of basic food and energy,” head of the ministry’s Fiscal Policy Agency, Febrio Kacaribu, informed here on Wednesday.
The efforts include providing a policy cushion in the form of the cooking oil social aid for the low-income group, he elaborated.
The strategy has been found necessary considering the spike in the price of commodities, specifically energy and food, that can potentially drive up inflation, he said.
The current weakening global economic performance is linked to a spike in commodity prices caused by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, he explained.
While the global trade disruption has checked the rate of economic recovery, the surge in global commodity prices had had a positive impact on Indonesia.
For instance, Indonesia’s exports surged to US$27.32 billion in April this year, a growth of 47.76 percent (yoy).
Oil and gas exports grew by 48.92 percent (yoy), while non-oil and gas shipments swelled by 47.7 percent (yoy).
In addition, exports in the manufacturing sector, which is the biggest contributor to non-oil and gas commodities exports, showed consistent growth of 27.92 percent (yoy).
Manufacturing is a sector with high added value in the economy, especially in terms of job creation, Kacaribu said.
To this end, government policy will continue to promote exports of goods with high added value through the downstreaming of Indonesian natural resources, such as iron, steel, and ferronickel.
Kacaribu also informed that the trade balance in April 2022 recorded a surplus which indicates Indonesia’s economic strengthening this year will be better than last year.
Source: Antara News