Exports Hit Record High This Year: BPS

Source: The Jakarta Post

Indonesia posted this year’s record high in exports, selling US$11.88 billion of goods in October, amid falling demand caused by the global economic downturn, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced Tuesday.

“It was the second time exports surpassed $10 billion,” Rusman Heriawan told a press conference.

Exports in October rose by 10.12 percent from a year earlier, and 20.72 percent from the previous month. Rusman said exports in October last year were low as the global financial crisis worsened.

Between January and October Indonesia exported $92.03 billion worth of goods, according to BPS.

The increase in exports was dominated by mining products, he said, while industrial and agricultural products dropped.

Imports in October rose by 11.16 percent to $9.47 billion from September, but dropped by 30.84 percent from October last year. Between January and October imports reached $15.05 billion, a 46.58 percent decline from the same period last year.